Peace in Our Time: Technological Decimation
by DC-MarvelGirl 1997
Summary: Vol 3 of Peace in Our Time. It's election season. Wanda and Pietro Maximoff are governing Genosha. Magneto and Matthew Risman are in prison. As it gets closer to the presidential election, Tony Stark's health issues grow worse, and his oldest friend Hank Pym has plans to improve the world.
1. Issue 41 Incredible Nightcrawler pt 1

**A/N: **

**It's official! We are back with another volume of Peace in Our Time! And let me tell you, MarvelMaster616 and I have got quite the treat for you. This third volume will continue to expand upon building this world that MarvelMaster616 helped me design. **

**Ever since the ending of Peace in Our Time: Mutiny, things for our heroes have changed. Magneto has been arrested upon taking over Genosha and kidnapping Matthew Risman, one of the financial backers behind Cameron Hodge and Obadiah Stane. With both Matthew Risman and Magneto in prison, Wanda Maximoff is leading Genosha. But what does Risman's arrest mean now for the X-men? Is it going to make things better, or will it make it worse? Additionally, Tony Stark is facing his own health issues due to his excessive consumption of alcohol. Moreover, the X-men are in for another adventure awaiting them. **

**Once again, I would highly appreciate it if you all followed, favored, and _REVIEWED_ this story. This time around, I will be updating every two weeks like a true comic book. And also, be sure to leave some support to MarvelMaster616 on his series X-men Supreme! **

**Excelsior! **

**DC-MarvelGirl 1997**

* * *

_Living in a world that hates and fears them, the X-men of X-Corporation are striving to make things better for mutants everywhere across the globe. Part of their efforts has been recruiting their newest members Rogue and Cecilia Reyes, and having Logan "Wolverine" Howlett a permanent fixture on the team. _

_Recently, their efforts of protecting mutants meant going to the island of Genosha to rescue Matthew Risman, who got kidnapped by Magneto for his crimes against mutants. As a result, both Risman and Magento are in prison, and Wanda Maximoff is the leader of Genosha._

_However, one of the biggest changes to occur is a rapidly growing chemistry between Scott "Cyclops" Summers and Jean "Marvel Girl" Grey, who got closer upon being stuck in the Savage Land together. Needing to rely on one another for a deep sense of survival, Scott and Jean now have developed a closer bond, one that their teammates cannot ignore._

* * *

**Issue 41: The Incredible Nightcrawler Part 1 **

**Lee-Claremont Traveling Circus – Twenty-Four Hours Ago **

_"Meine Damen und Herren . . . Jungen und Mädchen . . . Willkommen im Lee-Claremont Travelling Circus. . . und Junge, haben wir heute Abend einen Leckerbissen für dich? Oh ja, das machen wir! Heute Abend erleben wir den ultimativen Käfigkampf zwischen unserem Champion Glob Herman. . . und unser neuester Konkurrent. . . der unglaubliche Nightcrawler! (1)" _boomed the voice of the ring master in fluent German.

The Lee-Claremont Traveling Circus was one of the few circuses that traveled throughout Europe which hadn't gone out of business. But, what made the circus sell tickets was the fact that it was a circus that exploited mutants for entertainment to the public. Using mutants in cage fighting was almost common, especially in the city of Frankfurt.

The latest champion of cage fighting in the Lee-Claremont Traveling Circus, Robert Herman – also known as "Glob" Herman, stepped out of his cage. His wax-like appearance and physiology made him highly flammable, and on a lot of occasions, he set himself on fire in effort to win in his fights. He had superhuman strength, durability and speed, making him a force to be reckoned with.

The newest competitor was thrown in the ring. The mutant had blue, velvety fur, yellow – almost glowing eyes, fangs, sharp claws on his hands which only had three fingers, feet with three toes, pointy ears, and a long, demon-like tail. Kurt "Nightcrawler" Wagner always knew that he was different from the time he was two. Aside from his demonic appearance, he also had the strange ability of teleportation. People would scream whenever they saw him; his adoptive parents, the Wagners, protected him as best they could, but, their very best didn't protect him from people fearing him. Fifteen going on sixteen, Kurt found that he had been taken to go and cage fight in the circus after his adoptive family died in a house fire.

The blue, fuzzy mutant trembled as he was let out of his cage, dressed in a ringmaster-styled coat. The ridiculous get-up only further made him feel more degraded. Looking around him, he saw men standing around the cage with guns, getting ready to shoot and kill if he and the Glob Herman didn't fight. The teenaged boy was terrified out of his mind.

'Our Father . . . vho art in Heaven . . . how'll be zhy name. Zhy Kingdom come . . . zhy vill be done . . . on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us zhis name, our daily bread. And forgive us of our trespasses . . . as ve forgive zhose zhat trespass against us. Believe us not . . . into temptation, but deliver us from evil . . . Amen . . . in zhe name of zhe Father, zhe Son, and zhe Holy Spirit,' the young demonic mutant thought to himself as he stood there trembling, praying for God's protection. He hoped that the Lord would hear his pleas for safety. That was the moment the bell rang throughout, and the cheering crowd was screaming louder, banging their hands against the cage surrounding Kurt and Glob. Glob proceeded to set himself ablaze with a match, going in to attack the prone, trembling, agile Nightcrawler. Kurt teleported away, up on a trapeze wire.

"You have to fight!" shouted Glob to Nightcrawler. He did not want to do this anymore than Kurt did, but, he knew what had to be done. "You have to fight, or they'll kill us both!"

Kurt nodded, praying that Glob wasn't going to burn him. He noticed swords nearby. Grabbing one, he acted on instinct, jousting his opponent. The crowd jeered and cheered louder in response, jumping up and down in excitement and ecstasy. However, Kurt didn't know how much longer he could keep this up. He dodged and ported away from Glob, not wanting to fight. But, he also knew that he had no choice. This was no better than being terrorized by the locals of the city of Frankfurt. Suddenly, he missed his childhood friend, Amanda Sefton, the one girl in his life who accepted him with open arms.

'Oh Amanda, I miss you, fraulein,' Kurt thought, continuing with trembling out of pure fear that he was feeling.

Suddenly, that was when Kurt's saving grace seemingly happened. He was wondering if the Lord had answered his prayers as the tent threatened to collapse down. The demonic, agile mutant teleported out of the collapsing circus tent, porting away as the crowd of people went from elated to angry as they proceeded to chase him.

'Oh vhat is happening right now?' Kurt thought as he ran like his life depended on it. 'Vhat did I do?' He clutched his crucifix hard in his hands, closing his eyes. However, before he knew it, a strong sense of dizziness came over him, and he was collapsing on the rainy pavement.

* * *

**The Whitehouse – Present Day **

Life for President Norman Osborn for the past few months had become pure and utter chaos, especially with the events of what happened just that past spring. Now, they were in September, and with the presidential election coming shortly in November, everyone knew the fate of the country was going to depend on who got elected. So far, Senator Edward Kelly was high in the polls due to the fact that he was anti-mutant, and people were filled with faith that he was going to be the one to keep the mutants in line.

President Osborn could fully admit that the X-men were doing good deeds, but, what gave them the right to interfere in the United States' personal business. Some were even considering them vigilantes. However, there were also those comparing them to superheroes like Captain America. But, the difference was, Captain America had been part of the military during the Second World War.

As President Osborn sat at his desk, his thoughts drifted to his son, Harry, who was away at prep school out in California. He knew of Harry's closest friend, Peter Parker; of course he did. But, Harry wasn't one of the important things on his mind. One of the important things on his mind was the fact that he had been approached by a man named William Stryker, who had tried to discussing with him about starting a mutant response division, or MRD for short. The idea of a group of military-grade ops keeping mutants in line was almost too good for the president to think to be true. In fact, he remembered his conversation he had had with William Stryker the day before.

_"This sounds very tempting and very effective, Mr. Stryker . . . really. It actually sounds as though it could potentially work very well. But, I have to say, we have faced situations with the likes of Cameron Hodge and Obadiah Stane where they promised us something, and they ended up going rogue. So therefor, you better promise me no funny business, sir," _he'd said.

_"I promise you, Mr. President that this will work. The MRD is truly the best way to keep the mutant freaks in line. We cannot rely on those X-men. They're not the police; they're not the military. What gives them the right to interfere with our personal business? What do they know about law enforcement? I don't care if they are employed or adopted by Tony Stark. I could care less. And since they refuse to work with the government and Tony Stark essentially told Senator Kelly to kiss his ass, I'd say that we need to make sure that this takes effect," _Stryker had said.

Now, as President Osborn sat at his desk, he truly was considering William Stryker's idea of the MRD. It also seemed as though it were something that Senator Kelly would support, as well. However, that was the moment one of his secret service members came rushing in.

"Mr. President!" the secret service agent cried. "You need to be on lockdown, now! Someone's issuing an attack in the Whitehouse!"

"What?" the president asked anxiously as he watched his security lock up the doors to his office. However, that was the moment that they could all hear the sounds of "bamfs" from all around. It was the oddest sound that any of them could have ever heard. Suddenly, that was the moment that they saw the president's security team go down one by one, a puff of smoke following each time, until finally, the mysterious presence reached the president. It appeared to be a blue, demonic-looking mutant staring down at him with a crazed expression in his yellow, gleaming eyes, holding a dagger over his head. But, surprisingly, the mutant didn't stab President Osborn. He just stabbed the knife down on the desk beside the president's head, with a note reading, "Mutant rights now!"

* * *

**Montclair State University **

'Wow, I wasn't expecting Montclair to be this nice. I know my sister Sarah had considered coming here for school,' thought Jean Grey as she toured the campus of Montclair State University.

Jean, who was starting to consider colleges in New York and New Jersey, was starting to consider not only Colombia, but also Rutgers and Montclair as well. Even William Patterson University sounded quite appealing to her. But, at the same time, she also was not sure if she wanted to dorm anywhere. She didn't want to be too far from X-Corporation. She knew Scott felt the same way. She did not know what was forming between Scott and her, but, ever since the Savage Land, they both found themselves being rather attached to each other, not wanting to be away from one another. Scott was her best friend; that was a given. But, ever since the Savage Land, everyone in X-Corporation watched as the two of them became practically inseparable.

Touring around Montclair's huge campus, Jean suddenly understood why her father and mother had graduated from there, and why her sister had considered going to school there. The whole entire campus was absolutely stunning. On top of that, it was a mutant-friendly school, something that Jean was looking for. She understood that Montclair was one of the most prestigious schools in all of New Jersey.

Jean was surprised that going back to her home state wasn't as painful as she thought that it would be. However, she still couldn't bring herself to go back to her hometown of Clifton, New Jersey. That had been the very place where she had lost her parents and had gotten separated from her brothers and sisters. Before Jean knew it, she was passing the alumni office, and what she saw in there brought a feeling of warmth to her chest.

She saw photographs of some of the more notable alumni. Actors and actresses were a given considering that Montclair was a huge performing arts heavy college. But, when she looked and saw a photo of someone by the name of Sarah Grey who had graduated from pre-law, it made her eyes heat up with moisture.

So, her sister _had _graduated from Montclair. She studied the picture, every detail. Her sister, Sarah, had inherited their mother's family's genes: auburn hair, hazel eyes and a rosy complexion were a given. Though many had told Jean and her twin, Madelyne, growing up that while they had the red hair and the green eyes, they were the first girls to have their father's shape of head like their brothers did. She suddenly was wondering about her other siblings and where the heck they were. It made her miss her family more than she usually did.

'I miss you, Sarah,' she thought as she stood there. Exiting the office before she got too emotional, Jean swallowed her tears back as she noticed an image on the news. It was of a supposed mutant attack that had happened on the president. Jean let out a sigh, and suddenly, she heard her cell phone ringing in her purse. Pulling it out, she saw that it was the professor calling her.

_"Jean, you must get back home, immediately. There is a rather pressing matter to discuss," _the professor said.

"Jesus, Professor! You _know _I can never get used to you doing that!" Jean said, startled.

_"Sorry, dear, but I am postulating you saw the news while at Montclair." _

"Yes, I did . . . I'm seeing it right now, sir," Jean said to her mentor. "I'll just – I'll schedule another tour; it was about to start." Hanging up the phone, Jean exited the student center. She walked towards her white Jeep Grand Cherokee which had been an eighteenth birthday present from Tony back in February. Getting into her car, Jean breathed out a sigh. She knew that she could put a checkmark next to Montclair State as one of the colleges that she was going to be applying to.

* * *

**Rochester Institute of Technology **

"Okay, I'm pretty sure I just died and gone to heaven right now," said Scott Summers as he toured the campus of RIT in Rochester, New York with Hank McCoy and Tony Stark.

"Well, Slim, you and I of all the people in the world appreciate looking at a car engine more than anything else," said Tony as they passed through aerospace engineering.

"Air and spacecraft," Hank mused. "This is what you're considering?"

"My father was a test pilot, Hank, and my mother was a scientist for SHIELD. I think you of all people can understand that I appreciate aircraft engineering," Scott said as he took pictures out of pure fascination for what he was seeing in that moment. "Besides, Tony, you wouldn't want me going to MIT and be _too _far away from home."

"Of course not, kid," Tony said. He understood that Scott valued his opinion on school very highly. "So, if you do not get into here, your second choice is Cornel or Fordham?"

"Yes, but, let's face it, with how I did as far as my GED goes, I _will _make it into RIT," Scott said in a determined tone. "Besides, I do not think that Logan would appreciate the X-men's "fearless leader" going out of the state. He's expecting me to start scheduling the Danger Room sessions. I can't do that if I'm in Massachusetts." Before they knew it, they were passing the automotive section. The minute Scott's eye landed on a Porsche, he looked as though he'd died and gone to heaven again. "Okay, I wanna make out with this car right now!"

"That's what's going to substitute women for you, Scott? Automobiles?" Hank asked him with an amused, toothy smile.

"Well, I wouldn't go _that _far, Hank," Scott said.

"Well, from the way I see you staring at our resident redhead lately, I can almost guarantee that cars won't replace her," Tony said.

Scott went red around the ears. It didn't shock him that Tony was teasing him about developing a crush on Jean. Tony and Bobby had been cracking jokes about it for months; at this point, it was getting on his nerves. Even Warren, whom he and Jean considered to be their best friend, was joining in on throwing jabs at them ever since the Savage Land. "Tony, can you stop? Please? Jean, she's just my best friend. She's nothing more than that," he insisted, embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, there are best friends, and then there's you two," Tony replied back. "Ever since the Savage Land, the two of you have been spending so much time together, she's practically attached to your hip. Don't deny it. We all see it."

"What about you and Pepper?" Scott asked seriously. "Because I can tell your feelings for your executive assistant are more than just professional. Are you going to question Hank's relationship he's got with his patient at the eye clinic?"

Hank's fur went to a shade of purple, showing he was blushing.

"Okay, I know I'm technically your boss, but, since we're also friends, I won't fire you for asking questions about _my _relationship," Tony quipped.

"Okay, you know you sound like Michael Scott right now," Scott said with a roll of his eyes. "If they want to remake _The Office _again, you should play the boss, honest to God. And you know who should play the movie version of you? Steve Carell. Or how about Robert Downey, Jr.?"

"Then that makes you and Jean in the role that Jim and Pam had," Tony warned him.

"Oh man, you're right!" Scott groaned as they continued to walk along RIT. However, as they were about to tour the bioengineering section, that was when they saw news footage about a mutant attack on the president. "Oh great," Scott muttered. "Bobby's friend Peter is gonna love this one."

"You take it we should head back home?" Hank asked, preparing to walk out and back to Tony's car.

"You know, the old man's gonna call us in five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . ." That was when Tony's cell phone rang. "Speak of the devil," he murmured, answering the phone. "Yes, old man, we know. We saw the news. I take it you want us home?"

_"Indeed, Tony," _Xavier said.

* * *

**St. Peter's Cathedral – Berlin, Germany **

'Oh Lord . . . forgive me for vhatever it vas that I had done,' thought young Kurt Wagner to himself as he teleported throughout the St. Peter's Cathedral in Berlin. The minute the blue, demonic mutant learned that he had supposedly attacked the United States president; he'd teleported away to Berlin. Knowing that he couldn't go back to Frankfurt under the understanding that the circus would be looking for him, he stopped in Berlin in the closest church that he could find. The old cathedral looked as though it had been abandoned and hadn't been used in years. In fact, a couple times he'd come to this very church to gather his head together and just find some solitude.

Over the years, the blue, fuzzy elf of a mutant found that he'd needed something to bring him comfort considering how alone he felt in the world. It was ironic, because as demonic-looking he appeared to be, he held onto a strong sense of faith in the Catholic religion, because what else did he have? He had to believe in something. Managing to scope out a painting of Jesus across the room, the fuzz-ball elf of a mutant silently folded his hands into prayer, breathing hard as he continued trembling out of fear that the people from the circus might end up finding him. If they found him, he knew he'd be dead where he stood.

Kurt didn't even remember attacking the president. All he remembered was collapsing after a wave of vertigo hit him, and the next thing he knew, he was back in Germany running from an angry mob of people who were chasing him with pitch forks, looking to burn him on the stake for the entire country of Germany to see. He was pretty sure that he had lost them, but, he wanted to stay in the church for save measure. Ever since he was a young child, people would scream whenever they saw him. It was him against the world about ninety-nine percent of the time. Tears filled the young mutant's eye as he caught his reflection in a nearby mirror.

'No vonder people are afraid of me . . . no vonder people think I'm a demon,' he thought sadly as he sat where he was, swallowing to try and keep himself from crying.

Little Kurt knew, outside the church, several were waiting outside, spying on him. One of them was a mysterious woman, with white hair dressed in a green suit; she only went by one name, Vertigo, her name being appropriate due to her ability of being able to project swirling mental waves to attack people with severe dizziness. Standing by her side were Philippa Sontag, who could generate shockwaves, George Blair, who could shape-shift his putty-like body any way that he pleased, and Clement Wilson who had aoustikinesis – ability to absorb sound and send them back in the form of a concussive force.

"Sinister, we are in position," said Clement – Ruckus.

_"Excellent, Ruckus. Just wait for the targets to arrive. You will know them when you see them. After all, they _are _X-men, and their genes for me are rather desirable," _an eerie, unsettling voice said behind the intercom.

* * *

**A/N: **

**Translation: **

**1) ****German: Meine Damen und Herren . . . Jungen und Mädchen! Willkommen im Lee-Claremont Travelling Circus! Und Junge, haben wir heute Abend einen Leckerbissen für dich? Oh ja, das machen wir! Heute Abend erleben wir den ultimativen Käfigkampf zwischen unserem Champion Glob Herman . . . und unser neuester Konkurrent . . . der unglaubliche Nightcrawler!**

**English: Ladies and gentlemen . . . boys and girls! Welcome to the Lee-Claremont Traveling Circus! And boy, do we have a treat for you tonight? Oh yes, we do! Tonight, we witness the ultimate cage fight between our champ Glob Herman . . . and our newest competitor . . . The Incredible Nightcrawler! **

**Up next: The Incredible Nightcrawler Part 2**

**Be sure to REVIEW! I . . . NEED . . . REVIEWS!**


	2. Issue 42: Incredible Nightcrawler pt 2

_In a world that hates and fears mutants, the X-men are determined to fight for peace among humans and mutants. Unfortunately, progress that they make seems to die down more and more each day, especially when discrimination continues to be on the rise._

_Discrimination against mutants proves to still pose an issue in foreign countries, especially countries like Germany where mutants are forcefully placed in establishments such as clubs and circuses to entertain. However, this entertainment is at mutants' expense, especially as they are forced to do humiliating performance acts by means to survive. Mutants such as Kurt "Nightcrawler" Wagner are a prime example of such humiliation and hazing. Now, Kurt has attacked President Norman Osborn, leaving behind a message of "mutant rights now" to spread a warning. _

* * *

**Issue 42: The Incredible Nightcrawler Part 2**

**X-Corporation Tower – The War Room **

"_Charles, I honestly do not know what could have caused the attack on the president. You know what we're doing on Genosha; we're staying out of it, at this point. There's no need for us to get caught up in American politics. Why would I do such a thing?" _asked Wanda Maximoff.

"Wanda, I am not signifying that you prearranged it. I know that you have been keeping your head low ever since you took up governing Genosha. I was just speculating if you could have perchance had a clue on it," Professor Xavier said to her.

"_No; believe me, none of the citizens on Genosha have been thinking about going rogue as of lately. I'd rather keep the peace on my homeland," _Wanda said. _"What would I gain from attacking President Osborn? Nothing. That's unless Pietro has been secretly planning something behind my back. But, if he did that, I'll hex him right where the sun doesn't shine. But, I promise you, if I hear anything, I will let you and the X-men know, immediately." _

"Thank you, Wanda," Professor Xavier said, hanging up the line. He turned to look towards Tony, Cecilia, Scott, Jean, Logan and Ororo who were there.

"Frankly, if you want my honest opinion, I think its Magneto," Scott said cynically from where he stood overlooking the window.

"He's been locked up in his plastic prison at SHIELD for the past few months, Scott. I doubt that he'd be able to organize anything like this from where he's sitting right now," Ororo said, sipping at a cup of tea.

"I still think that you guys should go and check it out; it wouldn't hurt in the least," said Tony.

"Agreed," Logan said. He turned to Scott, Jean and Ororo. "Do you three think you can handle it?"

"Logan, are you sure about sending the three of them out there?" asked Cecilia.

"I think they've proved themselves enough in the Danger Room," Logan said with a shrug. "I trust 'em."

"But, Professor, do you have a clue of who this mutant might be?" asked Jean, clutching a mug of green tea and letting the heat of the mug warm the palms of her hands.

"That's the thing, Jean; when I am in Cerebro, I try to lock onto his location, but, he seems to vanish and then rematerialize within an instant. The last I saw of his location was in Berlin, Germany," the professor explained. "In the meantime, I am going to go to D.C to visit an old friend." He rolled out of the War Room with Cecilia at his side; they prepared to take the second Blackbird to Washington, D.C so that they could go and question Magneto for themselves.

"Alright, we'll start there." Scott led Ororo and Jean out of the War Room so that they could get changed and get on the Blackbird. While Scott, Ororo and Jean left to go and prepare to leave for Germany, Tony proceeded to retire to his office for the rest of the day. However, just as he was about to enter the elevator, he felt an overwhelming pain in his chest as a dizzy spell came over him. He felt himself black out for a moment as he gripped the wall hard, breathing deeply.

'Shit,' the young, billionaire playboy thought to himself as he rode up the elevator. He suddenly wished that he had Logan's healing factor, because that would mean he'd be able to have a higher tolerance to alcohol and not get sick from it that easily. Upon entering his office, Tony found that he was tempted to have a sip of alcohol; despite Cecilia Reyes advising him all those months ago to stop, he found it hard to stop. He understood that it was an addiction, and that he could die. But, just the feeling of the liquor melting away his problems at least temporarily was something he enjoyed too much. He knew that his father had had the same exact issue he had.

Walking over to his desk, Tony poured himself a glass of straight up orange liquor. Rubbing his aching head, he took a longing sip, sighing heavily. As he shook his head as if to attempt at clearing it, Tony collapsed down in his seat as he felt the aches in his chest continue on.

* * *

**Lobdell Veteran's Housing **

"No more mutants! No more mutants! No more mutants!" the small crowd of Friends of Humanity followers chanted over and over in anger as Graydon Creed took the stage.

"Now, now everyone, I understand you all have got something to be angry about today, my friends," Creed said from where he stood.

"Are you kidding me?! A mutie freak attacks the president in the White House! Who is to say that that bastard won't be coming for us next?!" shouted one of the followers.

"Yeah! I'm in shock over the fact that the president isn't coming out and saying shit about it! He was attacked by one of those cockroaches, but I don't see him pressing forward and taking action! I mean, c'mon! How are Sentinels going to fix our problems? How? What's law enforcement gonna do?" someone else yelled, holding a poster he had made of X-man Hank McCoy with a large red X crossed over his face, slurs like "mutie" written on it.

"And what exactly is Senator Kelly gonna do about it if and when he gets elected?" shouted a woman who had made a shirt with a photograph of X-men member Jean Grey's face on it with words like "whore," "freak," "monster," and "bitch" littering it. "These muties aren't even people! Why the hell are people like Tony Stark fighting for them to have "human" rights? As long as clowns like him live on this earth, he'll continue to make humans look like a joke!"

"And what exactly had Stark accomplished in his life aside from being a drunken idiot who talks out of his ass?" asked somebody else. "That fool wouldn't know basic decency if it came out of his ass! And his father founded that X-Corporation company! I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree in that area!"

"This is why we will take action as soon as possible. If that mutant attack on the Whitehouse doesn't change the mind of President Osborn, then we will have to do something about it," said Creed, as if to calm the crowd, but, he was only riling them up more and making their emotions of anger, fear and hatred rise to the top. "I promise you, when we arise, the freaks will be wishing they haven't been born. No more mutants."

"NO MORE MUTANTS! NO MORE MUTANTS! NO MORE MUTANTS!" the crowd chanted again and again, this time ten times louder than before.

* * *

**Genosha – Magneto's Citadel **

To say that Wanda Maximoff wasn't in the greatest mood that day would be an understatement.

After seeing the news of the unsettling mutant attack on the Whitehouse, Wanda found herself growing sick over it. And after the call she'd gotten from Charles Xavier, Tony Stark and their X-men, Wanda knew more than anything at this point that she had to stay out of anything involving mutants and United States politics. All she could do was continue with governing Genosha, like she'd promised her father she would do.

Wanda sauntered down the halls of the citadel, her thoughts drifting back and forth to the mutant attack on the president. 'The strange thing is that this mutant didn't kill President Osborn. He or she or whoever this is just stabbed a knife down that said "mutant rights now." It sounds like something Pietro would do. He better not have anything to do with this, or I will hex his speedy ass and he will learn in a very colorful way just how unhappy I am.'

Ever since the Brotherhood had gotten busted for kidnapping Matthew Risman, Wanda was more than determined to stay out of trouble. She had her bitterness towards humanity, sure she did. But, she was content where she stood as leader of Genosha, and she was determined to stay in that place. That meant not trying anything stupid. Finally, she stopped at Pietro's bedroom in the citadel, knocking on the door.

"Pietro!" she said. When she did not get an answer, she used her powers to rip the door off its hinges, only to find Pietro watching the re-runs of the news while chowing down a whole meat-lover's pizza from Little Caesars. She shook her head.

"Pietro, I can see you are up-to-date on the news," she said as she further walked in.

"Yeah, sis, besides, someone has to keep up with that shit right now," Pietro said with a shrug.

Wanda let out a sigh. "Well, I _was _going to ask you if you had any part in organizing that attack. Because if you did, I'll hex your ass to go right into the ocean and you'll be forced to swim your way all the way back here, while avoiding sharks . . ."

"Wanda, do you honestly think I'd be stupid enough to plan something like this? I'm not that much of an idiot," Pietro said with a roll of his eyes.

"Okay, fine, but you better not lie. Besides, have you seen Raven? I cannot find her I've been searching for her all day since I saw the news."

"Last I saw her; she told me that she was going to Germany to look into something. She says it's rather important." Pietro bit into his pizza slice with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Alright, you just gave me a reason not to kick your ass today," Wanda said coolly as she walked out of her brother's room.

"H-Hey Wanda, are you at least gonna fix my door?" Pietro asked her coyly.

* * *

**Washington, D.C SHIELD Base**

"Professor Xavier, do you truly believe that Magneto might have possibly organized the attack on the president from where he is right now?" asked Colonel Nick Fury as he led Charles and Cecilia down the halls of SHIELD.

"Well, Scott Summers is apprehensive that that might be the case; it couldn't hurt to ask a question or two," said Xavier as Cecilia helped him into his plastic wheelchair.

"Summers has both his parents' instincts. Going with his gut when he knows something isn't right. His mother had that talent," Fury said as they edged closer to Magneto's cell. "He has potential to be an agent for SHIELD one day, and a good one, too. His mother was a genius when it came to what she did. It doesn't surprise me Scott inherited her brains. You gotta be street smart when dealing with people like Magneto; when dealing with people like him, street smart will get you a lot further than book smart."

Cecilia nodded in agreement. She also had her apprehensions, considering that Magneto didn't just want mutant rights. He wanted mutant supremacy where mutants ruled the entire world. This was something he'd organize, no doubt.

"Charles, you know I partially agree with Scott that this is something Magneto would plot, because he's very calculated with what it is that he does," she said. Looking down at the time, it was close to five o'clock at night. Finally, they reached Magneto's cell, to see the master of magnetism staring at the wall. The old Holocaust survivor turned to face them.

"Ahh, Charles, to what do I owe this visit?" he asked as Charles and Cecilia came into his cell to sit down. Cecilia had removed her jewelry, knowing how sue-happy Magneto got when he saw he had access to metal.

"I am sure that you heard about the mutant assault on the president," Xavier said.

"And you think I caused that to happen?" Erik asked softly.

"You gave our resident Scott Summers plenty of reasons to be wary," said Cecilia.

"He's smart . . . but, if you want to know that I didn't formulate the plan to attack President Osborn, read my mind, Charles," Erik dared them.

"Are you serious right now?" Cecilia asked, narrowing her eyes. She looked outside the cell at Nick Fury, who looked as suspicious as she was.

"Dr. Reyes, I can assure you that as far as that attack on the president goes, I have nothing to do with it. How would I be able to organize an attack like that from where I am standing currently?"

As Charles said there, he could pick up on his old friend's thoughts; his thoughts and his words about not having anything to do with the attack on the Whitehouse were completely filled with sincerity. In fact, Magneto was just as puzzled about it as he and Cecilia and the rest of the X-men were. So, if the attack wasn't plotted by Magneto, who could plan such a thing?

"Alright, I think we got the answer that we need to know," Xavier told Cecilia. Cecilia gave Xavier a hard look, as if she were skeptical. But, Xavier cast Cecilia a look that told her he knew Magneto was sincere. "Goodbye, old friend," he added in Erik's direction.

Erik nodded as Charles and Cecilia left the cell, Nick Fury leading them out.

"Well, if he didn't stage that attack, who did?" Cecilia asked; eyebrows arched upward.

"I honestly do not know, Cecilia," Xavier said.

* * *

**Skies above Berlin – The Blackbird **

The flight to Berlin, Germany on the Blackbird was silent as Scott, Jean and Ororo concentrated on the task at hand. They knew that any mutant that attacked the president of the United States would most likely be organized by Magneto, but, that was nearly impossible due to where Magneto stood. That meant the three of them had to find out exactly what was going on. With the presidential election coming in short of three months, the X-men knew not to do anything that would make them look any worse in the eyes of the media. They knew that groups of people were divided. Some thought that the X-men were heroes. Others thought that they were vigilantes looking to start trouble.

Scott drummed his fingers against the steering wheel as he piloted the jet, following the coordinates that the professor had given them. Scott understood that the professor and Dr. Reyes were visiting Magneto, hoping to get answers of their own. The young X-leader felt that it was too much of a coincidence. It was no shock to any of the X-men that Magneto was bitter towards them for locking him up in SHIELD custody. Who was to say that his daughter or his son could not stage that attack under his orders? But, Wanda Maximoff insisted that she had nothing to do with it, because she did not want to dig a deeper hole for herself than she already did. Over the past few months, Wanda as the leader of Genosha had to do a lot of damage control, and she was determined not to mess it up.

'I sure hope to God that we get the answers that we need while we are on this little trip,' Scott thought.

Jean picked up on the thoughts of her best friend, and reached over to lean a lone hand on his shoulder as a form of silent support. Scott smiled appreciatively at her before turning his attention back to what it was that he was doing in that moment.

Before they knew it, Scott was landing the jet down outside an old, abandoned cathedral in Berlin. From the looks of it, the church appeared to not have been used in decades. The windows were broken, and it was completely dark inside. The sun was setting around them, the sky turning a shade of blood red. Ororo would happily take in such a beautiful sight if the situation that they were in wasn't so dire.

"Here we are," said Scott as he got out of his seat. He grabbed onto Jean's hand gently, giving it a squeeze as they walked up to the cathedral with Ororo at their side. Upon entering, they heard the floors creaking underneath their feet; they feared that the floor would collapse under the weight of them just walking on it.

"Quite the hiding spot; could use a bit of a fixer-upper," Jean commented softly as they walked inside. Suddenly, that was when they could hear something that sounded like "bamfs," and Jean could pick up on somebody's thoughts that were nearby.

'Oh God . . . I hope zhat zhey leave . . . zhat zhey don't know I'm here,' the person was thinking.

Jean shared a small smile with her two best friends. "He's a teleporter," she told them. "That's why the professor couldn't hold onto his signature through Cerebro."

"Hey, we don't wanna hurt you! We just want to talk!" Ororo said. "We're from the X-men!"

They could hear more bamfs, and they could see puffs of smoke following. Scott cast Ororo a look.

"Storm, do your thing," he told her with a small smile.

"That can be arranged." Ororo's eyes went from their stunning electric blue to a pure, bright white as she used her powers to manipulate the winds around her. Before they knew it, the heavy wind was too much for the mutant hiding in the church to handle, and he went tumbling down. Jean caught him with her telekinesis; the three X-men took in the sight of the blue, demonic-looking mutant dressed in what appeared to be a circus get-up.

"Do you have him?" Ororo asked.

"He's not going anywhere," said Jean in a reassuring tone as they walked closer to the mutant who appeared younger than them by a couple years, close to Bobby's age.

"What's your name?" Scott asked.

"K-Kurt . . . Kurt Wagner," the teleporter answered shakily. He gestured to a poster which seemed to advertise a circus. "B-But in zhe Lee-Claremont Traveling Circus, zhey call me zhe Incredible Nightcrawler." Jean walked over closer to him to examine him further. She could see a few wounds that appeared to be burns on the mutant's skin, as well as a few cuts on his face that needed to be tended to immediately before they caught an infection.

"Storm, can you get some of the supplies from the medical bay on the jet, please?" Jean asked.

The African weather goddess nodded and went to the jet to fetch the supplies Jean would need. The redhead set Kurt down on what appeared to be a bench. Before they knew it, Ororo returned with bandages, benzoyl peroxide and ointment that Beast always kept on the plane. As Jean tended to the Nightcrawler's wounds, she, Scott and Ororo proceeded to question him.

"Do you have any memory of what happened while you were in the Whitehouse?" asked Scott as he watched Jean tend to Kurt's burns and cuts.

"_Nein_." Kurt shook his head. "I – all I remember is running from zhe circus, because-because zhe tent vas collapsing down. I-I thought somehow I had done it; I knew I had to get avay because if I didn't, I'd be dead . . ." He turned to look at a portrait of Jesus. "I guess He's somehow testing me," he said.

"How did you end up in the circus?" asked Jean.

"It vas after my adoptive mozther and fazther died in a house fire. I-I vas getting chased by villagers who zhaught I vas a demon . . . I don't know vhat I am, but, vhen I vas fourteen, zhe circus found me and zhey used me to tour around Europe to do cage fighting." The Nightcrawler closed his eyes in sadness.

Jean frowned in sympathy as she cleaned a burn mark that was on Kurt's knuckle. She could hardly imagine what it was like to be degraded and humiliated like that, to be used for people's own sick idea of entertainment. Turning Kurt over gently to examine any wounds that might be on his back or neck, she noticed something that appeared to be some kind of bullet wound.

"What's that?" Scott asked.

"I honestly am not sure," Jean whispered, brushing her fingers over the incision. "Where's this from?" she asked Kurt.

"Vhat?" Kurt asked, opening his haunting, yellow eyes. Jean turned to look towards her friends.

"I think that we should take him to the professor," she said.

"Professor?" Kurt asked.

"Charles Xavier," Scott answered. Before the three of them could help Kurt rise to his feet, they could feel a shocking vibration throughout the church, knocking Scott, Jean and Ororo off their feet. Shortly afterward, they could feel a strange, dizzying sensation coming over them, like they were being hit with vertigo. Jean clutched her head, losing her balance as she could hardly get up off of the floor. Feeling another shockwave hitting them, Jean, Scott, Ororo and Kurt fell through the already-sensitive wood flooring of the church. All four hit their heads, passing out.

That was the moment three, ominous figures entered the church. Vertigo, Philippa "Arclight" Sontag and Clemet "Ruckus" Wilson stood over the opening in the floor that had been caused, courtesy of Arclight and Vertigo, smiling at their work.

"_Do you have them?" _asked an unsettling, chilling voice on the other end of the communications link.

"Yes, Sinister, we've got them," Arclight said with a smile on her lips, brushing her fingers through her lavender hair. "Just as you requested: Scott Summers and Jean Grey."

* * *

**Up next: Sinister Intent Part 1**

**A/N: Be sure to REVIEW! Please! At this point the lacking of reviews, follows and favorites on this story is becoming pathetic. Of course I'm going to update once every two weeks, but that means nothing if reviews, constructive criticism, or praise aren't left behind. **


	3. Issue 43: Sinister Intent Part 1

_The world is constantly changing. Nonetheless, that means Charles Xavier, Tony Stark, and their X-men must attempt at fighting for peace and understanding. However, this proves to be a challenge day by day as more people continue to hate and fear mutants. _

_One of these challenges includes dealing with those who are so unhappy with the political climates of where they live, they are willing to attack high ranking government officials and other influencers. One example of this was the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants kidnapping Matthew Risman, the man who helped financially fund Cameron Hodge and Obadiah Stane in their venture to exterminate mutant children and experiment on them._

_Another unfortunate example is Kurt "Nightcrawler" Wagner, who recently attacked President Norman Osborne, against his will. In their moments of confronting Kurt on his actions, Scott Summers and Jean Grey have gotten kidnapped by an ominous group of mutants working under a man of one name: Sinister._

* * *

**Issue 43: Sinister Intent Part 1**

**Unknown Location **

"Hnn," groaned Scott as he began to come to consciousness slowly. His limbs felt as though they were made from lead; as if someone had put one-hundred-pound weights on them. Every muscle in his body ached, and his head pounded with a horrible migraine that not even his optic blasts could cause. His ears were ringing loudly, only adding to his discomfort.

Slowly opening his eyes, his red-hazed vision was blurry, the light blinding his eyes. He clenched them shut again in the attempt to clear his vision. Weakly shaking his head, Scott groaned again in pain. Taking stock of his body and his surroundings, he noticed his arms and legs were bound with thick, metal restraints. He felt a headset attached to his head, monitoring what must be his cerebral waves. Looking above him, he noticed something that appeared to be technology that looked like something out of a Sci-Fi movie, which instantly startled him. Whatever that was, he most definitely didn't want _that _near him.

"What the hell?" he asked himself as he took notice of the fact that he appeared to be in some sort of lab. Looking to his right, he noticed Jean lying beside him on what appeared to be a medical table in a similar, unconscious state. That was when he noticed that they both had oxygen tubing up their noses.

'What the hell is happening right now?' he thought, beginning to struggle against the metal restraints.

"I wouldn't vouch for that," said an eerie, ominous, calculated voice nearby. It was a voice that sent chills up Scott's spine. "That might bring some . . . discomfort."

Scott looked straight ahead to notice that he and Jean were not alone in the room. He saw a man standing over his exam table; white-faced with lips painted a deep shade of black, long dark hair braided in two pigtails, and deep red eyes that seemed to be glowing, as well as a red, ruby-type detail on his forehead. The man appeared flamboyant in a sense, based on the way he carried himself. Scott narrowed his eyes at the man; he didn't know who he was or what he wanted, but, Scott knew he didn't want to find out.

"Who are you? What do you want with the two of us?" he asked.

"I am glad that you asked. My name is Doctor Nathaniel Essex. But you may call me Sinister . . . _Mr._ _Sinister_," the man said in that same calm voice, a voice that the vet would use to tell you that you had to put your dog down. It was a tone that sent shivers down Scott's spine, but, he was determined to hide it. "I am a geneticist, scientist and researcher with five PhD's in medicine and science, and I in particular am very interested in both you and Ms. Grey here . . . that's why you are here."

Scott struggled harder against his restraints, grunting painfully as he felt them tighten around his wrists and ankles. He then turned his head to look at Jean, who was slowly starting to come to as well.

"Hnnn," groaned Jean, moving her head to the side.

"Jean," Scott breathed out as Sinister moved to stroke the side of Jean's face. Scott glared at the man. "Get away from her! Touch me, leave her out of this! Please!" he begged. "I don't know what you want, but, please, leave Jean alone!"

"Sorry, Mr. Summers. Not today," Sinister said. "You see both you and Ms. Grey here have genetics that are rather . . . _desirable._"

"So that's what you want? Our DNA?" Scott spat, suddenly in a deeper fear, as well as a state of anger. But he hid his fear. He didn't want to give this sick man the satisfaction.

"Certainly. You both have no clue just how capable you both happen to be in terms of your _abilities. _You both have more power than you could ever imagine. Don't worry. Collecting genetic material is painless . . . well, _mostly,_" Sinister said. That was the moment Scott felt something that felt like needles attaching themselves to his neck, and he could feel a surging discomfort flowing through his whole body.

"Hnnn . . . Scott," groaned Jean; the needles had plunged themselves into her neck as well.

"Jean . . . Jean, keep your eyes closed! It'll be over soon!" Scott told her, the desperation in his voice evident.

"Oh, how sweet," Sinister said in a taunting tone of voice. "I didn't know you two cared for each other that deeply . . ."

"Scott . . . Scott where are you?" Jean moaned, opening her eyes slowly and blinking. That was the moment she noticed how her body was restrained, and she started struggling.

"Now, now, now, Ms. Grey, I wouldn't attempt that," Sinister said calmly to her.

Jean groaned again as she noticed Sinister standing above her medical table. "Who the hell are you?" she asked, her head pounding with a terrible headache. The last time she'd felt a headache that bad, it had been when her powers had been haywire in the mental hospital. She felt an overwhelming nausea in her stomach. It was enough to make her nearly want to vomit.

"Dr. Nathaniel Essex, but if you favor, you may call me Mr. Sinister," the geneticist said calmly as he continued to collect DNA from Scott and Jean.

"Why? What do you want with us?" Jean asked.

"Just a few DNA samples, here and there. The both of you have more promise and power than you can ever imagine. The question is, would you two control that power, or allow it to control you?" Sinister asked in that same chilling tone.

* * *

**St. Peter's Cathedral – Berlin, Germany**

"Hnnn . . . my aching head," groaned Ororo as she came to consciousness. Awakening, she noticed the collapsed floor above her and Kurt Wagner as Kurt awoke. "I can use a bath in a tub filled with aspirin."

"I'll second zhat. Vhat happened?" Kurt asked, blinking his eyes.

"I honestly do not know, but, I don't see Scott and Jean anywhere," Ororo said, rising to her feet and brushing dirt and dust off her uniform.

"Vell, ve better find zthem both," Kurt breathed shakily, grabbing Ororo by the hand and teleporting them up and outside of the cathedral.

"I'll have to see if I can reach them on the communications link," said the weather goddess as she led them to the Blackbird.

"I wouldn't attempt that," said a voice behind them. Turning around, Storm and Nightcrawler noticed Mystique – the Brotherhood's blue, shape-shifting member standing there before them.

"Mystique," whispered Ororo, her guard instantly up as she took a defensive stance.

"Relax, Storm, believe it or not, I am not here to fight you," Raven Darkholm said. "In fact, I can help you find the missing members of your team. I know who took them."

"God to hell," Ororo spat, keeping her guard up.

"Fine then, but, if you wish to know what happened to your teammates . . ." Mystique's voice sounded sincere.

"Who took Scott and Jean?" Ororo asked, still skeptical of Mystique as they made their way to the Blackbird. She knew not to trust her. Mystique could so easily screw them over in that moment.

"He goes by the name of Sinister – real name, Dr. Nathaniel Essex. He's a geneticist who is obsessed with bloodlines, and apparently, the Summers and Grey families have genetics that are rather desirable, especially for him," Raven said calmly.

* * *

**Essex Laboratories – World War II **

Raven Darkholm walked along the halls of Essex Laboratories in Poznan, Poland, her gun holstered to her hip as she sauntered through the facility. Having been working with Essex for a good year, Raven "Mystique" Darkholm knew what this man was capable of.

'Dr. Essex, I swear to God. All of this work that he already has got me doing. I do not know per say what his ultimate goal is. But whatever it happens to be, it must be pretty Goddamn important if he needs someone of my talents working for him,' Raven thought, passing the various doctors scrambling around with samples of blood. Finally, she made her way to Essex's office.

"Dr. Essex? I'm back from Berlin," she said.

Nathaniel Essex smiled his sinister smile at Raven. "My dear Raven; I wasn't expecting you to be back so soon."

"Well, you know what I am capable of, Dr. Essex. Besides, you told me that you wanted me back here urgently. What is it?" asked Raven as she followed Essex out of his office and to a medical lab. Upon walking in, Raven couldn't help but notice the various, alien-like technology and advanced medical equipment. But she also noticed two people laying on medical tables, seemingly comatose with oxygen tubing up their noses. It was a woman and a man. The man had dark blonde hair and a square-like jaw. The woman had long, auburn hair and a rosy complexion to her features. They were both breathing in sedatives that were keeping them knocked out as IVs were attached to them, seeming to collect blood samples.

"Who are these people?" she asked. "With all this technology, Howard Stark would be envious," she added.

"Well, I found these two unfortunate souls on the frontlines fighting on America's side of the war. Apparently, these two had been using their mutant abilities to aid America in winning the war. They could give that man Steve Rogers – Captain America – a run for his money," Essex said, running his fingers along the jawline of the auburn-haired woman. "These two are quite . . . _exceptional. _Let's just put it that way, and I believe that there's even more potential with their offspring as well. Too bad they're not together romantically. They'd make a rather exquisite couple . . ."

"Their names and their abilities?" asked Raven as she came further into the room for a closer look. She could see that the pair was being prepped for what she could assume to be some kind of surgery.

"Daniel Summers – ability to release concussive solar energy through his chest in the form of a blast, and Jennifer Campbell – telekinetic and telepathic and ability of healing any illness. However, Ms. Campbell has got much more power and potential than you'd think. Same with Mr. Summers here. I ran some tests on the both of them – both have been going underneath the codenames of Havok and Anodyne – at least that's what the people in their units have been calling them. The more tests I ran, the more I learned of these two. There's potential with them. It's a potential for the greatest mutant to ever be born," Essex said with an eerie smile on his lips. He went over and stroked the side of the woman, Jennifer's, face. "This one is especially extraordinary. I must get as much genetic material as possible from both of them. Bone marrow, blood samples, skin tissue, muscle tissue . . . everything," he added softly.

* * *

**The Blackbird – Present Day**

'Mind controlling shape-shifters taking over my mind, a land with dinosaurs, and now, crazy mad scientists. I really wish I can remember when I had something a little normal in life.'

Ororo and Kurt sat on the Blackbird, Storm piloting the aircraft while Mystique of how she'd used to work for Nathaniel Essex during World War II on her lips. The unsettling story of how Essex had experimented on Scott and Jean's ancestors was enough to make Ororo's stomach churn with sickness. If Essex had obsessed with Scott and Jean's great-grandparents as deeply as he did, then God only knew what he'd do to Scott and Jean.

"So, when did you exactly leave his side?" asked Ororo.

"I'd left after I learned he was doing a lot more than just . . . I . . . that's a story for another time. In fact, working with Essex had been a mistake for me, a huge one. I know perfectly well what that bastard is capable of doing; he has an intelligence so sophisticated, he could make Tony Stark's father look like an amateur in comparison. He's obsessed with bloodlines and mutants. He thinks that mutants are the next step towards evolution and humanity evolving.

"However, Scott Summers' family bloodline is one he is even more interested in, because he'd learned upon experimenting on Cyclops' great-grandfather that the Summers family mutation is unique. But how it's unique, I am not quite sure. All I know is that this man is old by at least thousands of years. For all I know, he was probably born all the way back in the nineteenth century," Mystique said bitterly.

"Working with him back in the Second World War is one of the many things that I regret having done in my past, and the fact that I had stuck around afterward . . . another compunction that I've got to live with for the rest of my life. He was interested in me being at his side because I do not only have a shape-shifting power. I've also got a healing factor that allows me to age slower than the average mutant. It was Sinister experimenting on me that gave me this appearance of having blue skin; he wanted me to be the perfect soldier for him. Before I actually used to look somewhat normal before he did what he'd done to me. After running from him, I was found by Magneto and he offered me a place in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants," she added in.

"Well, do you know where Sinister is now?" asked Ororo.

"Believe me . . . I know exactly where that bastard is located. He'll be in his laboratory down in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; quite the location he'd chosen, especially for experimenting on his mutate soldiers whom he's got working for him. Believe me, if I can help the X-men take him down, I will be nothing short of satisfied," Raven said. "And Mr. Wagner, I believe he was the one who made you attack the president. He must have drugged you to lead Cyclops and Marvel Girl into his trap."

"But, I doubt zhat you have got no others reasons zhan just zhat," Kurt pointed out to the blue shape-shifter.

Raven grew quiet. Kurt almost thought he saw sadness cross over her features. But, he brushed it aside as Ororo continued to pilot the jet back to X-Corporation Tower. That was the moment a call came over the communications link.

"_Storm, where are you? Where are Scott and Red? Is everything alright?" _Tony Stark asked over the comm link.

"Tony, I've got the mutant who attacked the president; I've also got Mystique with me. She believes that a man by the name of Nathaniel Essex drugged Kurt Wagner into attacking President Osborn so that he could kidnap Scott and Jean," Ororo said. "Pull up anything that you can possibly find on him. We're on our way."

"_Are you sure about working with Mystique, Ororo? She has been known to screw people over, many times. Look at how she manipulated Rogue," _Tony said in a warning tone.

"She hates Essex with a passion, Mr. Stark; she's willing to help us for the time being," Storm said as she piloted the jet.

"_Alright, but, Mystique, you better not try anything stupid," _Tony said in a warning tone as he hung up the line.

* * *

**Essex Laboratories – Baton Rouge, Louisiana**

For nearly an hour, Scott Summers and Jean grey found themselves being weakened by the sedatives that Nathaniel Essex was forcing them to breathe in as he continued to take samples of their DNA. Blood, tissue samples, teeth swabs, dirt underneath fingernails; everything he could possibly think of to gather, he was collecting. Jean hated the feeling of being weak as she laid there at somebody else's mercy. It reminded her too much of how she had been helpless in the mental institution she'd been living in before the professor came and got her.

"Sinister . . . why the hell are you so . . . so insistent on this? What is the point of this?" groaned Jean as her body continued to ache with pains that were overwhelming her whole body as well as her mind. Her limbs felt like jelly. Her muscles were tense with pain as sweat beaded down her face. The sedatives seemed to be adding to the physical pain that she was in.

"You see, Ms. Grey, you have got something that is rather desirable to someone like me. Both you and Mr. Summers here have so much potential to be so much more powerful than you already are. I knew it for years, even before you two children were born," Sinister explained in a sick tone of voice, a cold, chilling smile on his lips.

"Sinister . . . shut up!" groaned Scott behind a clenched jaw. "You're not crazy! You're fucking eccentric! Stalking us for God only knows how many years? How do you know who we are? How long have you known about us? You need a new hobby, immediately!"

"What you call eccentric, I call brilliance, Mr. Summers," Sinister said to them. "The two of you are exceptional; that's a given. But, your powers make you all the more distinctive from any other mutants on this planet. You both are truly one of a kind."

"Well, I would be flattered if you were not planning on using me for your own perverted game!" shouted Jean, her voice laced with anger. "Quit it with the compliments and let us go, Goddammit!" She glared at Sinister with so much anger radiating off of her, that she could make Bobby's organic ice form melt. She looked as though she'd burst into flames in that moment. Her anger was overwhelming her fear of being in a strange laboratory with this mad geneticist who seemed to be highly obsessed with her and Scott.

"Now, now, now, Ms. Grey . . . I would be careful with that temper of yours. It will get you into trouble one day," Sinister taunted, watching as the genetic samples continued to be collected from Scott and Jean as the two young X-men struggled against their bonds.

* * *

**Up next: Sinister Intent Part 2**

**A/N**

**Also, if any of you are up for reading something sexy, yet sweet, you can head over to my Archive of Our Own where I will post some sexy specials for Peace in Our Time of our characters having their "first times" with lovers. Warren's first time with Candy is up on there now, along with Angelica Jones and Johnny Storm. **


	4. Issue 44: Sinister Intent Part 2

_The X-men of X-Corporation continue to fight for peace in a world that hates and fears them. While a tiny amount of progress has been made to try making things better, there still proves to be those out there who hate mutants. Those who hate mutants are willing to use them for their own gain. _

_However, there are also those willing to use mutants because they want mutants to be the superior race upon Earth. There are those mutants who believe that they are worthy of ruling the world and believe that mutants are the key to evolution. Among those is Doctor Nathaniel Essex, who has over his years experimented on mutants to make them something stronger. _

_Part of Essex's past is a connection to the Summers and Grey family bloodlines, when he'd kidnapped and experimented on two mutants during World War II. These mutants were named Daniel Summers and Jennifer Campbell, who are Scott Summers' and Jean Grey's great-grandparents. This obsession ran deep, to the point where he used Kurt "Nightcrawler" Wagner as a distraction in order to kidnap Scott and Jean. _

_Now, as he experiments on Scott and Jean, the two teenagers wait for their team to arrive and save them both. With the X-men is Raven "Mystique" Darkholm, who had worked for Essex as a spy during the Second World War._

* * *

**Issue 44: Sinister Intent Part 2**

**Essex Laboratories – One Day Ago **

'This better be for a good reason . . . I can't believe Dr. Essex made us go all that way to Germany for this! What the hell is going on?' wondered George Blair – Gorgeous George – as he carried the unconscious Kurt Wagner – Nightcrawler, along using his intense strength to keep his limbs wrapped around the younger mutant. Gorgeous George, Vertigo, Ruckus and Arclight walked through the halls of Dr. Essex's lab, having just gotten back from Frankfurt.

After having attacked the circus tent that the Incredible Nightcrawler had been forced to perform in, the members of Dr. Essex's Marauders made their way back to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where their home base was located.

Finally, the Marauders reached their destination – the main laboratory where Essex – Mr. Sinister – was awaiting their arrival. The flamboyant, over-the-top mutant geneticist smiled as his thugs approached him.

"Put him on the table, Gorgeous," he requested.

Gorgeous George obeyed, setting the demonic-looking mutant teen down onto the medical table.

"What is it about him that is so important, Mr. Sinister?" asked Arclight.

"You see, my dear, I have been waiting a long time to come into contact with this one," Sinister replied in a chilling tone of voice that his Marauders were used to hearing at this point.

"Wait, wait, you _know_ who this mutant is in particular?" asked Ruckus in a surprised voice.

"You could say that . . ." Essex touched the velvety skin of the unconscious Nightcrawler, memorizing every detail. Pulling out something that resembled a staple gun, he pressed it against the back of Kurt's neck and shot the mutant up with a drug. "I'm making him more . . . _acquiescent. _He's just a diversion. What I am _really_ after are two mutants in particular, who could be useful to me."

* * *

**X-Corporation Tower Hanger – Present Day **

Shortly after the arrival of Ororo, Kurt Wagner and Raven Darkholm, the X-men prepared to go to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Dressed in full uniform, Logan, Rogue, Warren, Bobby, Cecilia, Hank, Forge, Raven, and Kurt found that they were boarding the Blackbird yet again. With Rhodey piloting the aircraft, they knew that they did not have too much to worry about. Additionally, Tony and Xavier were tagging along for the ride.

"Based on what I found on this Sinister guy, this man is even more eccentric than I am," Tony said as he sat in the cockpit beside Rhodey and the professor.

"I didn't even think that such a thing was possible," quipped Warren from where he sat beside Rogue.

"But, I can say, that if he is as obsessed with Scott and Jean as you say he is, Mystique, then something tells me he won't give them up without a fight," Rhodey said as he flew the jet out of the hanger towards their desired location.

"Believe me; I've seen how he was back in World War II when he was experimenting on Daniel Summers and Jennifer Campbell; he was convinced that the two of them could create the world's most powerful mutant. What he meant by that, I am not entirely sure. All I know is that I have got a bone to pick with him," Mystique spat out bitterly.

"Well, ya better not be fuckin' around with us, Mystique, because if ya are, I won't hesitate to jam a claw right into yer abdomen," Logan spat in her direction from where he sat in front of Warren and Rogue.

"Ah'm with Logan over here," Rogue added in Mystique's direction around a bitter glare. She still hadn't forgiven the blue shape-shifter for what she had done to her in terms of forcing her to absorb Carol Danvers.

"Rogue . . ." Mystique started to say.

"Ah've got nothin' to say to ya! Don't even try." Rogue hardened her glare on her face, her jaw clenched hard as Warren leaned a hand on her shoulder.

"Save the blood-thirstiness for later, Anna-Marie," he told her. "Let's just focus on saving Jean and Scott so that we can all go home."

Rogue nodded reluctantly, turning her attention back to the task at hand. However, she found that she was intrigued by Kurt Wagner, who was sitting in the back, still dressed in the ridiculous outfit he'd wear when he would perform in the circus. The sight of it was pitiful and sad for Anna-Marie, because she could understand what it was like to be humiliated like that.

She thought back to when she'd kissed Cody, her first crush, and how everyone pointed and gawked at her as if she were some kind of freak. According to Ororo, Kurt had been forced into it all, and that he'd had no choice. It was either he perform in the circus, or get chased by terrified locals who had been looking to burn him at the stake as if he were a monster. The Southern mutant got up to go and sit beside Kurt, who had his hands in prayer and his haunting yellow eyes closed.

"What are ya doin', sugah?" she asked him softly.

Kurt opened his eyes to look towards the teenage girl before him. "Prayer to St. Anthony," he explained quietly. "So . . . you are part of zhis team for vhat reason?"

"To keep us all safe, from persecution," said Anna-Marie. "Ah – mah powers manifested after Ah'd kissed a boy that Ah had a crush on. Poor pretty boy ended up in a coma for three weeks. That's when Ah first learned whenever Ah touch somebody that Ah can absorb their strength right into meh . . . some power, huh? That's why the boys quit callin'." Kurt could hear the bitterness in Rogue's voice as she said those words.

"Well, Rogue, if it brings you any comfort, I'd realized my powers were going out of control when I'd started getting dandruff," Beast said a small smile in her direction.

"At least that was probably better than what happened with meh." Rogue smiled ruefully. She turned her eyes in the direction of Mystique. "Mystique took meh in . . . it led into meh absorbin' all of Ms. Marvel's powers." Kurt could hear that Rogue's voice was tinged with anger.

"You know, vhen I vas in zhe circus, sure, I vas afraid, but, I vas more scared of being outside zhe circus, because . . . regular people are afraid of me. But, I never hated zhem. I pitied zhem. Do you know vhy? Because most people vill never know anyzhing beyond vhat zhey see vith zheir own two eyes," Kurt explained.

Warren and Rogue both looked in his direction. "Well, I'm one of those people who gave up on pity a long time ago . . ." Warren said.

"Meh too," Rogue said.

"Same here," Bobby chimed in, his memory of his mother and father not accepting him still fresh in his mind.

Kurt just simply reached over, stroking Rogue's hair out of her face. "Somevone so beautiful shouldn't be so angry," he told her.

"Well, in mah experience, sugah, sometimes anger can help ya survive," Rogue said.

"So can faith," Nightcrawler whispered.

"Well said," Professor Xavier said.

Everyone on the jet took in what Kurt had to say. Here was a mutant who was feared by anybody he came into contact with, and had been used for people's own sick idea of amusement and joy. But instead of being angry at the world and putting blame on everybody, he chose to have faith and chose to forgive those who persecuted and trespassed against him. It was something Bobby wanted nothing more than to do, but, he was still just too angry and hurt by his parents, who refused to accept him. He was hurt and insulted that they hadn't called him to check on him after he'd come home from the Savage Land all those months ago. It was something that left the ice-controlling mutant in nothing but disgust.

"It's not that easy to forgive," Bobby said bitterly. "I wish that I can, but I can't. Not after what my parents did to me, and what they continue to do to me. If you don't accept me as I am, if you hate what I am, say it to my face, and don't have one of my friends play messenger for you! I've got no respect for people who act like that!"

"Bobby, please," Ororo whispered from where she sat on the jet.

"We get it, Bobby, you're irate . . . but, for the longest time I've known you, you're a person who wants to be authentic about whom you are and you hate being dishonest to people. And right now, I'm looking at a person who is still hurt," said Hank.

Cecilia nodded in agreement.

"Guys, can we please set this all aside?" asked Forge. "Because right now, I am not looking forward to going off to someplace in a swamp to fight some guy named Sinister."

"Forge, shut up," Logan said as Rhodey continued to pilot the plane.

"Well, guys, you might as well get ready. We're passing over Georgia. Forge, did you fix this plane to go faster?" Tony asked.

"Yes, and I added some new digs to it. And when we get closer to where we're headed, you might want to test out the stealth mode I'd added," Forge said.

Tony had an expression on his face that looked as though he wanted to kiss Forge in that instant. "Forge you never cease to impress me."

"You know Tony, you might want to consider removing these masks," said Warren. "It's the worst kept secret about what our identities are at this point."

"Very true," Tony said from where he sat in the cockpit.

Over on Mystique's side, the blue shape-shifter remained quiet, not saying a word. She knew that nobody on the jet wanted her there at that moment. She couldn't blame them. She had screwed them over and she'd manipulated Rogue into absorbing Carol Danvers. She was a woman who had made mistake after mistake over and over, and she just couldn't seem to do anything that was right. Her eyes kept drifting over to Nightcrawler, who was sitting beside her adoptive "daughter."

'Kurt,' she thought to herself. 'You're one of the many things that I have screwed up on in life. I-I don't know when I am going to tell him the truth about . . . no, not today. I cannot.'

* * *

**Essex Laboratories **

For nearly an hour now, Dr. Nathaniel Essex continued to take more and more genetic samples from Scott Summers and Jean Grey. Both teens could feel their bodies growing weaker and weaker from the sedatives being fed to them through oxygen spectacles. Jean's skin was growing paler as the pain grew worse for her body and her mind.

"Scott," she whimpered. "Scott . . . whatever happens . . ."

"Jean . . . no, don't say what I know you're going to say . . . it's . . . it's going to be okay," Scott told her, trying to reassure her. "We're going to get out of this. I promise!"

Suddenly, that was the moment one of Sinister's thugs, Gorgeous George, came into the room, an anxious expression permeated on his face.

"Dr. Essex!" he said anxiously.

The mutant geneticist turned to face his Marauder. "What is it, Gorgeous?" he asked.

"We've got X-men coming. They are clearly using a stealth device! And that's not all! Tony Stark and James Rhodes are with them too!" Gorgeous George said.

"Keep them busy! We're nearly done here!" Sinister said, shooing the putty-like mutate off and out of the room. He turned his attention to Scott and Jean, who were weakly struggling against their restraints.

"Our friends . . . they'll . . . they'll come for us!" groaned Scott. "Looks as though they're here to kick your ass."

Sinister just chuckled darkly at the two of them, clearly amused at how hopeful Scott and Jean were at the thought of their friends coming for the two of them.

"Don't hope for things too soon, Mr. Summers," Sinister said softly.

* * *

**Outside Essex Laboratories **

The Blackbird landed down on the murky ground of Baton Rouge, and the X-men piled out of the aircraft with Tony and Professor Xavier saying behind. Rhodey holstered a pistol on his hip, determined to join in the fight. However, that was when Mr. Sinister's Marauders piled out of the building: Gorgeous George, Arclight, Vertigo, Ruckus, Hairbag, Blockbuster and Changeling piled out of the lab, all determined for a fight.

"Shit, looks like we've got company!" Iceman cried out, putting his organic ice form around his whole body to protect himself.

"Yes, you do. How about I give you all a warm welcome? It's all my pleasure!" Ruckus opened his mouth and let out a shout, the overwhelming sound waves knocking the X-men off their feet. Cecilia put up a shield around herself to protect her body from any damage.

"Shit!" groaned Wolverine, popping his claws out as he ran in towards Hairbag. "Didn't you all get the memo? You don't kick a man when he's done, hairball!"

"You make fun of me?" shouted Hairbag. "Nobody makes fun of Hairbag!" The large, muscular, dark-skinned mutant tackled the Wolverine down to the ground in a fit of rage.

Blockbuster grabbed hold of a tree that was nearby and was about to whack Beast with it. "I guess I will have to smash you!" he shouted. However, that was when Rogue grabbed hold of it.

"You don't mind if Ah play through, sugah?" she asked, using the tree to smack the overly-large, strong mutant away. However, Blockbuster knocked into Hairbag.

"Two of ya! The odds keep gettin' better and better!" Wolverine said with a grin, popping his claws out. But that was the moment Hairbag breathed on him, right in his face. The Wolverine gagged. "Oh shit! My eyes I can't see! I'm chokin'!"

"Then you won't know what hit you!" shouted Blockbuster, getting ready to smash a hand over the Wolverine. That was the moment Nightcrawler teleported onto Blockbuster's back, grabbing on tightly. "Get off of me you little pest!"

Mystique and Forge were in the process of facing off against Kevin Sydney – Changeling, who kept shape-shifting into various people – Senator Kelly, Jean, Scott, Angel . . . everyone they could have possibly known in their lifetime. Angel flew overhead, determined to face off against Gorgeous George. That was when Vertigo hit him with her powers, knocking him to the ground and right into Gorgeous George, whose body adapted to grab hold of the winged mutant.

"OH SHIT!" Angel shouted. "STORM!"

"Got your back, Warren!" Storm used her powers to manipulate the winds to form two F-3 tornadoes, just enough to make Gorgeous George's body remove itself from Angel.

"ANGEL! NIGHTCRAWLER! GO, FREE CYKE AND JEANNIE! WE'VE GOT THIS!" Wolverine hollered.

"Ah'm comin' with!" Rogue said.

"Me too! Sinister and I have got a score to settle!" seethed Mystique.

"Alright, c'mon!" Angel yelled. They went straight into the facility, nearly dodging Arclight's attack on them. Once inside the laboratory, Nightcrawler teleported in front of them all, causing Angel to nearly jump. "Kurt!" he yelped out.

"Sorry!" the agile teleporter apologized as they made their way down the halls. Turning the corner, they could see Scott and Jean stuck in a medical room of sorts, restrained to medical tables and attached to various machines in the room.

"SCOTT, JEAN!" Angel yelled, him and Rogue running into the room.

"Aren't we glad to see you?" groaned Jean as Rogue used her super strength to free the redhead from the medical table.

"Likewise, sugah," Rogue said. However, that was when Essex stepped into the room just as Nightcrawler and Angel worked on freeing Scott from the restraints. Scott fell against Angel, his knees weak.

"You're okay, man. I've got you," Angel whispered to Scott reassuringly.

"Ahh, Mystique . . . I never thought I'd ever see you again," Sinister said in the same calculated, soft voice.

"Shut up, Sinister!" spat Mystique.

That was when Dr. Essex noticed Nightcrawler and Rogue. "Oh, I see you brought company with you. Kurt Wagner, you haven't changed much I see from when I saw you last."

"Vhat are you talking about?" asked Nightcrawler.

"Oh, Mystique, you didn't tell them?" Sinister asked.

"Essex, shut up!" spat Mystique in anger.

"What is he talkin' about?" Rogue asked; anger evident in her voice as she allowed Jean to be supported against her.

"I see Raven here failed to tell you both the truth . . . Kurt Wagner, say hello to your adoptive sister," Sinister said with a dark smile.

Rogue and Nightcrawler turned to face each other with wide eyes. "Vhat?" the teleporter asked. He turned to face Mystique. "Mystique?" he asked.

Mystique had a look of guilt crossing over her features, not seeming to know what to say to Rogue and Nightcrawler who were standing there before her, waiting for answers.

"Kurt . . . Anna-Marie . . . I –" Raven Darkholm started to tell them. "Kurt . . . years ago, when I was still working under Sinister's thumb . . . I was in a relationship with a man named Azazel who is a species of mutant called Neyaphem – mutants who pass as demonic because of their appearances. That man is your father, but he left me. After-After I gave birth to you, I didn't know that Mr. Sinister had begun to experiment on you, which caused your mutation to come earlier than expected. After I found out about the experiments three months later, I'd ran away, but I ended up accidentally dropping you into a river below . . . I saw that the Wagners had already found you and took you in as their own. I-I knew that you would have something ten times better with them than what I could ever give you . . . I never deserved to have you as my son."

The guilt in Mystique's voice was evident; she sounded as though she were choked up as she said those words. For Scott, Jean and Angel, hearing this was as much as a shock to them as it was for Rogue and Nightcrawler.

"Vhy?" whispered Nightcrawler.

Mystique looked down at the ground. "I'd screwed up so many times that I felt I could never redeem myself for what I did . . . I just felt that giving you up, it would be for the best. Rogue, I honestly thought I could have a second chance with you. I guess I'd screwed up on that too."

Rogue and Nightcrawler stood there, taking the revelation in. For Rogue to learn that she had a little brother by adoption whom she'd never met was hard for her to digest. However, instead of feeling anger towards the woman who had failed to be his mother, Nightcrawler felt sadness in his chest. He could sense the guilt that Mystique was feeling.

"Mystique," he whispered.

"Forget it," Raven Darkholm said sadly. "Do not worry about me, Kurt. Worry more about your friends." She gestured to Scott and Jean, who were still weakened considerably from the sedatives that they had been forced to breathe in.

"Very well said, Raven," Sinister said with a callous smile.

Scott however in that moment had heard enough. Hearing all of this was overwhelming to him as it was. After having been captured and practically used as a lab rat, he wanted nothing more to do with this.

"Sinister . . . shut up!" he groaned. He placed his hand on his visor and used the lowest setting, firing an optic blast at the mutant geneticist. However, what happened in that moment was surprising. There was a large gaping wound in Sinister's side, a silvery fluid gushing out.

"My body – this is impossible!" Sinister groaned.

"So, you like playing God with mutants' lives! Well . . . just . . . keep away from me and my friends!" Scott grunted again, firing another optic blast beam at Sinister, this time in the chest only causing more damage, allowing them all time to escape. Rogue and Angel got Scott and Jean out of the lab as fast as they could, Nightcrawler and Mystique following close behind on their tails. Once they were outside, they saw that everyone else had taken down the rest of the Marauders. Scott and Jean collapsed against the side of the building, groaning in pain as Wolverine came over to them with Tony and Cecilia.

"Scooter, Jeannie," Wolverine whispered roughly, leaning over to give Scott a hand up as Tony got Jean on to her feet.

"You guys okay?" Cecilia asked in worry.

"Oh God . . . I'll need to soak in a bath of aspirin when we get back home!" whimpered Jean.

"I'll second that, kiddo; a cold beer would be great right now too, darlin'," Wolverine told her. That was the moment he noticed Mystique was missing from the group. "Where the fuck is Mystique?"

"Don't know," Nightcrawler whispered.

"I hope to God this is the last we see of Sinister and his thugs," quipped Iceman.

"Agreed," Forge said, nodding along.

"Come on, everyone, let's get home," Beast said, leading the way back to the jet. As soon as Scott and Jean made their way into their seats, they both collapsed down, their heads rolling from side to side.

'Scott,' Jean said telepathically to him.

'Yeah, Jean?' Both Scott and Jean were on the verge of passing out from exhaustion. But, they knew that they had to say what had to be said.

'I-I love you . . .'

'I love you, too.'

As the plane took off into the air, everyone noticed that Jean had her head resting on Scott's chest as she kissed his cheek weakly before they both fell asleep from fatigue.

"Well, it's about time," Wolverine said with a small smile.

"I'll say." Tony grinned back at Scott and Jean as the two teenagers slept, Scott's arm wrapped over Jean's shoulders. Angel went over and threw a thermal blanket around the pair, leaving them to their peace.

* * *

**Up next: The Wide Awake Project**


	5. Issue 45: The Wide Awake Project

_The X-men continue, every single day, to use their powers for peace in a world that hates and fears them. Unfortunately, despite their efforts at making things better, they are still deeply hated by those who do not understand. Among those who hate them is presidential candidate Senator Edward Kelly, who is looking for ways to try and keep mutants in line. _

_As hatred for mutants rise, there are those individuals who believe that mutants are deserving of ruling the world. Among those individuals is Doctor Nathaniel Essex – Mister Sinister, who has recently kidnapped Scott Summers and Jean Grey with help of a reluctant Nightcrawler, whom he brainwashed. However, during the rescuing of Scott and Jean, Raven Darkholm reveals to Nightcrawler and Rogue that she is Nightcrawler's biological mother. _

_However, despite things for mutants starting to become increasingly worse, Scott and Jean have blossomed to something even closer. What had gone from them being two best friends translated to a romantic attraction that formed during their time in the Savage Land. Now, after having been rescued from Sinister's clutches, the two have become a couple._

* * *

**Issue 45: The Wide Awake Project**

**X-Corporation Tower Kitchen – Thirty-Five Minutes Ago **

Bobby Drake sat at the kitchen table in X-Corporation, swirling his spoon around in a bowl of Frosted Flakes, but not really bothering with touching it. Since it was his first day of his sophomore year of high school, one would think that should excite him. But, for Bobby, ever since the rescue mission in Baton Rouge, he'd been feeling a sense of loneliness coming over him a lot more frequently.

After having saved Scott and Jean from Mr. Sinister, the two became an official couple. Not that they had acted like any less of a couple prior, though. But, now that they were together, they were doing things such as kissing, hand-holding, and cuddling, and it had only been nearly a week. Bobby could only guess that the two were releasing out all of their pent-up feelings that they had for one another that had been festering since the Savage Land. However, seeing his two friends together, it made Bobby crave to have something like that with someone.

Giving up on eating breakfast, he put his bowl into the sink and proceeded to head off to his room for a morning shower and get dressed. However, as he walked towards his bedroom, he saw a sight that made his chest constrict.

He could see Jean clearly attempting to sneak out of Scott's room. It was no lie that Jean and Scott sometimes had sleepovers; before, those were just for the two of them to help each other get through nightmares. But, as of two days ago, Jean had been sneaking into Scott's bedroom at five in the morning so that they could have a make-out session before their day started. Plus, it was conveniently before Bobby awoke at six-thirty A.M to prepare himself for school.

Watching Jean sneak a kiss to Scott before going off to her own bedroom made Bobby's chest ache. He longed to have something like that with somebody. As if it weren't enough that he had to watch his friends Johnny and Angelica kiss in the halls with their arms around each other, now, he had to bear witness to Scott and Jean doing the same. As he took his shower, his thoughts ran through his mind.

'I am happy for Scott and Jean. It was about time that they fessed up to their feelings that they clearly have been having for each other ever since the Savage Land. But . . . I do want to have something like that . . .'

Being the only openly gay student at Marsden Regional was tough enough on Bobby. But, now, his feelings of isolation seemed to be escalating as he watched his two pairs of friends fall in love with one another. It didn't help that he still had a really hard time being accepted by his parents and that he felt this need to protect and defend himself from his own family. He hadn't spoken to his parents in months, and it wasn't because he wasn't trying; he constantly was the one calling them. They just chose not to answer the phone or call him back. It was clear to Bobby that his parents were ashamed of having a gay mutant for a son.

'Damn you, Mom and Dad . . . why can't I just be accepted by you?' Bobby thought as he rinsed his hair off in the shower, closing his eyes as the tears threatened to come and down his face and mix with the water pouring down from the shower. 'Every time I am in my parents' presence, they look at me as though I am the devil. What have I done to deserve such a thing? Why do I bother calling them trying to have a relationship with them? I get it; Warren and Jean constantly tell me all the time, "Give it time; it will get better." But, it's not getting better. Why should I be the one to put in all the work?'

Seeing Scott and Jean being open with the affection that they shared made Bobby wish that he could have that. But, seeing as to how he had yet to find a person in his high school who was out as gay, Bobby was in a constant state of waiting and waiting for that to come along. As he stood there in the shower, the water pouring down over him, he finally allowed the tears to fill his eyes and roll down his cheeks. He would only cry when he was alone. Jean, Warren and Scott were the only ones he'd ever allowed to see him in a state of tears, because he knew that they cared. Once he was out of the shower, he got dressed for his day and grabbed his backpack, putting the smile on his face and not allowing anyone to see that he had just cried his eyes out in the shower.

* * *

**Marsden Regional High School – Present **

As Bobby walked down the halls towards his English class he had with Peter and M.J, he noticed Johnny and Angelica kissing in the hallway with their arms wrapped around each other lovingly. Bobby once again felt the jealousy sinking in.

'Why can't I have that with somebody?' he wondered as the tears threatened to come to his eyes. Swallowing the lump in his throat to prevent himself from crying again like he did in the shower that morning, Bobby proceeded to get to English class, where he saw Peter and M.J awaiting on him. Having not seen them all summer, Bobby was relieved to get back to being with them. With Peter being at science camp all summer long, Mary-Jane and Angelica being at sleep-away camp up in Upstate New York, and Johnny being away on a trip with his sister and soon-to-be-brother-in-law, Bobby hadn't been able to see any of his friends. Though, he did see Peter once, and only once, because Peter's Uncle Ben had gotten killed by a gunman walking home one night. Bobby, of course, when having heard about that showed up for the funeral, given that Peter was his best friend.

"Hey, Bobby, how was your summer?" asked Mary-Jane brightly, pulling him into a firm hug.

"Boring," Bobby replied. "To be quite honest, it wasn't the same without you guys being around."

"Same here," Peter said. "Believe me, Bobby, I've missed you; it sucks that the only time we ever saw each other was at my uncle's funeral." As Peter said those words, Bobby could see the sadness crossing his friend's features.

"Hey, you do not have to speak about it, at least not right now. Besides, things seem to be getting crazier and crazier. I mean, I am hearing news stories about this Spider-Man character swinging around on a web. He'd managed to stop that Aleksei Sytsevich guy who was in partnership with the Russian mob last week. Apparently, the dude was going around the city terrorizing it dressed in some ridiculous robotic armor calling himself the Rhino," Bobby pointed out. "And meanwhile, earlier this week, I had to rescue two members of my team from some crazy, mutant mad scientist who calls himself Mr. Sinister."

"Wait, that's what people are calling that guy? Spider-Man?" asked Mary-Jane in fascination.

"Yeah, apparently. Just watch as J.J Jameson bashes him in the news media," Peter quipped.

"Actually, dude, that's already going on right now," Bobby said, pulling up a news article on his phone for the _Daily Bugle. _"But, while J.J Jameson bashes this Spider-Man guy and the rest of the X-men, there are others out there who see us as heroes. It's insane to think that the X-men and Spider-Man have the country this divided in terms of heroes and American crime fighting. From what I can tell, Spider-Man's a hero; frankly, so are the X-men."

"Of course, you'll believe that the X-men are heroes, Bobby," Mary-Jane said. "You're part of it all. Your identity as Iceman is the worst kept secret of all time."

"I chose to reveal my identity to the public, M.J," pointed out Bobby. "And besides, did you hear about the sophomore class trip this coming October? We're going to Octavius Enterprises because Otto Octavius is planning to build robotic arms with artificial intelligence. I mean, I am not much of a science buff, but, this actually is a trip I'd _want_ to go on. After having missed the trip to go visit Dr. Curt Connors, I do _not _want to miss out on this. Trust me."

"Glad to see your enthusiasm for science Bobby," Peter said with a grin, punching his shoulder.

"Believe me Pete; I'm going on this trip because I do not want to be stuck in a classroom all day with Duncan Matthews and Flash Thompson. The day that that happens is the day that I die," Bobby said.

"Though look on the bright side. Even though you did miss the tour of Curt Connors' lab, at least you got a free trip to a pre-historic land known as the Savage Land," Peter quipped.

"Please don't remind me," groaned Bobby, causing Mary-Jane to giggle. "You're laughing at my pain right now, Mary-Jane?" he asked her.

"No, I'm not; I'm just saying you went to the real-life Jurassic Park. Who would have thought it'd be located in Antarctica of all places?" M.J asked.

"Good point." Bobby nodded as their English teacher walked in to start the class, causing everyone to turn their attention to the front of the classroom.

* * *

**The White House – Oval Office **

Senator Edward Kelly and William Stryker were sitting in the Oval Office with President Norman Osborn for over an hour, discussing the launching on the MRD using Bolivar Trask's Sentinel program. President Osborn was more than happy to get the initiative started; however, it was going to be up to Senator Kelly to continue the program if he ended up winning the presidential election.

Currently, his biggest opponent was Libertarian Party member Lilandra Neramani, a huge supporter of mutant civil rights who paid close attention to the United States Constitution, or at least she claimed that she did. She was well-spoken, eloquent, intelligent and a successful business woman with a very clean record with almost no legal issues. In fact, the woman hadn't gotten sued once. And with the next presidential debate about to come in Chicago, Illinois, Senator Kelly was determined to win over the United States. It was ironic that his biggest competitor was a Libertarian Party member when it would typically be a Democrat. But, Lilandra proved to be a very determined, intelligent woman with a class and grace to her that made her liked by mutants.

"Alright, so, how exactly are we going to be starting the MRD? What will we be calling this initiative?" asked President Osborn.

"The Wide Awake Project," Senator Kelly replied. "It's important to me that we start this, because you know who my biggest competitor is right now? Lilandra Neramani, a Libertarian, of all the political parties. All I know is she's one hell of a successful business woman with a lot of ambition who knows what she is doing. She's the heiress of Chandilar Industries and Aerie Law Firms; well-spoken, intelligent, and a graduate from both Harvard and Oxford. This woman isn't stupid."

"We're not denying that, Senator," said William Stryker. "But, I can guarantee you that once The Wide Awake Project is launched; you will be even higher in the poles than this Nermani woman ever would be."

"I sure do hope so. With the debate tomorrow, that's when we will launch it and present the Sentinels officially. We need to somehow make sure that people know that the Sentinels will not be put into the wrong hands again," said Senator Kelly. "You do know if that ends up happening, we'll be screwed again. We cannot afford what happened with Cameron Hodge and Obadiah Stane. I will never, _never _trust people like those two morons ever again."

"That's why I can assure you, Senator, that I will not betray your trust, not this time; in fact, I would like to be your personal advisor once you are elected," Stryker said calmly.

"Really, William? Well, that is quite the honor for me," said Senator Kelly.

"Well, I guess you can say that everything is set in stone. You may present The Wide Awake Project tomorrow, Senator," said President Osborn around a smile.

"Thank you, Mr. President, for backing us up and being behind us," Senator Kelly stated.

"Well, after that mutant attack on the White House earlier this week, we cannot take any chances, Senator. I think that keeping the American people safe from mutant kind is the most important thing right now. We must make sure that this will work."

"It will work, Mr. President. I can guarantee you that. But, I also know we are dealing with anti-mutant rioters right now. I think the fastest way to calm them down is by assuring them that they are being heard loud and clear," said Stryker.

* * *

**Kirkland Junior High School – Chicago, Illinois **

'I can't believe what I have gotta put up with at this time. Eighth grade, at least one more year until I get the hell outta here so I no longer have to deal with all these jerks here,' thought thirteen-year-old Kitty Pryde as she walked down the halls of Kirkland Junior High School.

Most would think because of her small, petite appearance that Kitty was one to let people tread on her. However, that was far from the case. Being the daughter of computer scientist Theresa Pryde, and Colonel Carmen Pryde, Katherine "Kitty" Anne Pryde wasn't one to take anything from people. Her father had groomed her to be strong and independent; while her mother's high intelligence got passed down to her. She'd grown up with her grandparents telling her stories of the Holocaust and how her grandmother gave birth to her mother during the Second Day War in a bomb shelter in Israel. Kitty coming from a family of survivors made her even more determined than most girls her age.

Walking towards lunch, Kitty could hear the snickering of two girls in her class, Riley and Sydney, two of the more overly popular girls in her grade.

'What the hell are those two bitches laughing at now?' Kitty thought bitterly. She had very little patience for Riley and Sydney. It was because she dealt with other issues in her life than just two idiotic, overly-popular girls that got joy out of teasing people and wearing too much makeup. Kitty constantly got teased by those two for her intelligence. But at this point in her life, she could honestly not give a flying crock of crap about it. Suddenly, that was the moment Riley stuck her foot out, tripping her over.

Kitty glowered at the two girls, having had more than enough, before she got up and into their faces. She flipped them the bird. "Fuck off," she spat, not taking a single moment of it. "Quit walking all over me and acting as though I am below you! I am _not _your dog!"

"Oooh, Kitty Cat's got a tempter," Sydney taunted.

"At least I've got a higher IQ than you two put together," Kitty growled. "I said it once, I'll say it again. The two of you are _jerks! _If you spent more time studying and less time caring about what I do, then maybe you wouldn't have ended up in summer school for both history _and _English! You have the balls to laugh at me behind my back and post shit about me on Twitter, but you don't have the balls to say it to my face. To me, that's very telling. You're both cowards!"

Instantly, that silenced the two girls. The fact that Kitty had the nerve to stand up to them and tell them that she wasn't taking their abuse was something that shocked the both of them. In fact, the small crowd that had gathered around upon hearing Kitty's rant let out a chorus of their own "Ooohs" as well. It was no secret that Kitty was the toughest girl in the entire middle school. Boys admired her for her resilience.

"I rest my case," Kitty said. "Class dismissed," she added before walking off to the cafeteria. Suddenly, that was when she felt a headache coming over her; she'd been getting migraines for the past month or so. She just assumed that they were because of stress due to the fact that she was going to be working on applying to a prestigious, all-girls science academy for high school.

Grabbing her lunch from the cafeteria – veggie burger, chocolate milk and French fries – Kitty took her seat in the cafeteria beside her only friend, Noriko "Nori" Ashida. Nori was as confident as Kitty was, and like Kitty, Nori tended to clash the most with Sydney and Riley and was very strong-minded.

"So, I heard you put Riley and Sydney in their place," Nori said with a grin on her face.

"Someone had to," Kitty said, pulling her veggie burger out of its tin wrappings, making a face. "Is this edible, Nori?" she asked her friend.

"Why'd you pick it?"

"Because it was either that or the main course of the day: Domino's Pizza. And the salad bar isn't the least bit clean, or healthy. I'm telling you, Nori, we live in a city where we've got the best deep-dish pizza, and our middle school serves us crap pizza," Kitty said in disgust.

"I can completely agree with you. Anyone who calls this food is out of their minds," Nori said with a shrug, picking at what appeared to be a sandwich of sorts.

"What is that?" Kitty asked Nori.

"Fish . . . I think," the Japanese girl answered back to her.

"What kind of fish?" Kitty asked.

"I hope cod," Nori said with a wince.

Kitty made another face. As a middle school class ambassador, she'd made several complaints to the class president about the cafeteria lunches. It was hardly edible. "Yeah, I hope so, too. I saw you eat a meatball yesterday; it bounced off the floor."

The two friends proceeded to eat in silence. However, that was the moment they could see commotion nearby between several football players and some of their classmates, foreign exchange student Roberto DeCosta, and Sooraya Qadir. The two kids seemed to be in an altercation with the jocks. She knew for a fact that both Roberto and Sooraya were mutants. Roberto's powers allowed him to absorb and channel solar power, and Sooraya could turn her body into dust. From what Kitty could tell, a food fight was breaking out between Roberto, Sooraya and the football players. Cups of frozen yoghurt, fries, tater tots, chicken nuggets and slices of pizza were flying everywhere in every which way. Several students screamed in panic.

"Alright, I suggest we get the heck out of here," Nori said, grabbing her friend by the arm.

"Yeah, I don't wanna get hit by anything. I swear, the person that hits me with a slice of pepperoni, they'll lose a finger," Kitty said as they proceeded to exit out of the cafeteria. That was the moment Kitty's headache seemed to be getting worse and worse as they walked out of the lunch room. They knew that they wanted nothing more than to avoid this situation, because it was something that would further trigger them. Both Kitty and Nori had sides to them that were temperamental and they had that switch in them. It was what bonded them, but, it also got them in trouble.

Just as a soft pretzel went flying at Kitty's head, that was the moment something odd, but, miraculous happened. The pretzel just seemed to pass right through Kitty's head, followed by a cup of frozen yoghurt, followed by a hot dog. It was something that greatly shocked the thirteen-year-old girl to no end as she continued out of the lunch room.

"Kitty, what was that?" asked Nori.

"Honestly, I really do not know," Kitty answered back to her friend honestly.

"It seemed as though the food just _phased _right through you!" Nori said in surprise.

"Phased?" asked Kitty.

"Yes; I saw it. I know exactly what it looks like! You're a mutant!" Nori said, her eyes growing wide.

Kitty stood there, taking in the revelation about the fact that she might be positive for the X-gene. After having heard of the intense discrimination that mutants were currently going through, she only hoped and prayed that she wasn't a mutant. But, hearing her closest friend in a way confirming it proved it to be true.

* * *

**Up next: Pryde and Prejudice**

**A/N: Be sure to go check out my Archive of Our Own page for some sexy cut scenes for the series. Maybe it'll help some of you to pass the time as we deal with this Coronavirus epidemic right now. **


	6. Issue 46: Pryde and Prejudice

_In a world that hates and fears them, the X-men of X-Corporation continue to use their powers to fight for peace in an ever-growing world that is filled with toxicity. With discrimination on the rise towards mutants, the X-men know that their role in fighting for peace is ever more important, especially with an upcoming presidential election, the two front runners being Republican Senator Edward Kelly, and Libertarian Lilandra Neramani. _

_However, the anti-mutant discrimination is proving to affect not just the X-men. It is proving to affect an even younger generation of people. Recently, thirteen-year-old Kitty Pryde has witnessed it at her own middle school. However, all it took was a wild food fight for her powers of phasing through anything solid to manifest. Now, the young teen must face the pressures of not just being a teenage girl, but also a mutant. _

_However, as this is happening, a newly-formed hate group named the "Friends of Humanity" is on the rise, underneath the leadership of a mysterious man named Graydon Creed._

* * *

**Issue 46: Pryde and Prejudice**

**Illinois Institute of Technology**

'One of the last presidential debates before the election . . .' thought Libertarian presidential nominee Lilandra Neramani as she fixed herself. Her long black hair flowed down her back as she mentally prepared herself for what was to come.

It was a great surprise to many that Republican nominee Senator Edward Kelly's biggest competitor was from the Conservative Libertarians. But, Lilandra was not your typical Conservative Libertarian. Her main focus was on equal rights for mutants. She was known to be a huge human rights activist, and a mutant rights activist. It was so far neck and neck between her and Senator Kelly, but, she hoped that she would be the one to end up winning, mostly due to the fact that she was well-aware of the fact that Senator Kelly was looking to unleash the Sentinels. Despite the fact that it had gone terrible with Cameron Hodge and Obadiah Stane, Lilandra was curious as to why Senator Kelly thought it could work this time just because it was now being monitored by the president who was approving of it.

Lilandra was not a politician, no she was not. But, what she was, was a successful business woman with several degrees, including one in law which allowed her to open up her law firm which helped represent mutants in court cases.

While Lilandra had her thoughts reeling through her mind at that moment in time, Senator Edward Kelly was mentally preparing himself as well. He understood that Lilandra's choice for her vice president was Evangeline Whedon, a lawyer who had gotten disbarred after her mutation had been exposed. To hear that was a surprise to many, but, for mutants who were angry about getting fired from their jobs due to their mutations, it fueled them to want to vote for Lilandra even further.

'Here we go . . . let's just hope that I end up winning them over with the launch of the MRD today, as well as The Wide Awake Project. I can only hope that this election will be in my favor,' thought Senator Kelly as he looked at Lilandra Neramani across the room, who was speaking with her assistant as well as her choice for vice president. What worried Senator Edward Kelly was the Lilandra was sharp, intelligent and eloquent with a very clean record and almost no controversies or scandals. She was definitely the one that greatly concerned the Republican presidential nominee.

"Edward, are you almost ready to take the stage?" asked his choice for vice president, Henry Peter Gyrich.

"Yes, Gyrich, I can assure you that," Kelly replied in return. "Besides, I know Shepherd Yost is the moderator for this one . . . knowing him, he'll be asking the toughest questions. I've got the feeling that Lilandra woman will be fully prepared."

"Hey, worry about what it is that you have got to do," said William Stryker. "Today, we're additionally launching the Sentinels and the MRD. There cannot be a better day than this, my dear Senator."

"No doubts there, William. I also understand that today, we've got a guest coming: Charles Xavier of X-Corporation as well as his X-men."

"Well, is his business partner Tony Stark going to be here?" asked Gyrich.

"Yes, most likely; you know that Stark kid goes wherever he goes," said Stryker. He then turned to Bolivar Trask. "Trask, are the Sentinels ready?"

"Yes, they are ready for presentation during the debate; we've additionally designed Sentinel Prowlers too," Trask said.

"Good; at least everybody's in place," said Senator Kelly.

* * *

**O'Hare International Airport**

"Professor, is it really necessary to go to this debate?" asked Bobby Drake from where he sat on the Blackbird.

"Bobby, please stop complaining. The minute you heard we were going to Chicago for the presidential debate, you've been bitching about it since last night," Jean pointed out. "How much TV can you watch in a day?"

"Yeah, I know, I know, it'll rot my brain cells." Bobby rolled his eyes as the plane landed and they proceeded to get into a car which would be taking them to their destination. "But while we're here, can we at least do sightseeing?"

"Yes, we can," Scott said. "Afterwards; I'm anxious to see the Illinois Institute of Technology; even though RIT is my top choice for school."

"Slim, please do not move to Chicago," Tony pled.

"I'm not moving anywhere yet," Scott said.

The drive to the Illinois Institute of Technology was relatively silent between Tony, his X-men and Pepper Potts. They were not by any means looking forward to needing to go to this presidential debate. However, from what they all understood was that the presidential candidate that could very well work in their favor was Libertarian party member Lilandra Neramani, a woman who was heavily behind mutant rights. While Charles Xavier was thinking of how Lilandra could potentially help in terms of creating peace between humans and mutants, Tony was thinking of the potential business mergers that X-Corporation and Chandilar Industries. Before they knew it, they were outside the Illinois Institute of Technology and getting out of the car, walking into the building where the presidential debate would be taking place.

"Professor, this being one of the last debates, aren't you worried about this?" Jean asked.

"Yes, Jean . . . I believe it would be out of character for me to not have my concerns and qualms about the fact that today, Senator Kelly is planning to announce the MRD and the Sentinels as part of his presidential campaign. It was just announced yesterday that President Osborn approved it," said the professor.

"Well, that makes me feel relief. My best friend, Peter, is going to love this one, considering our president is the father of one of his childhood friends, who is all the way out in California at a boarding school," Bobby groaned.

"Believe me, Bobby, none of us like the idea of this. The idea of an MRD being around to essentially babysit us and to force us to register. It violates basic human rights," said Ororo. "Let's just be thankful Logan's not here. You know he'll go on a berserker rage at the first person who gives him the wrong look. It just seems as though ever since what happened to Ms. Danvers, he's become even more of a hard ass."

"Well, they say that time heals all wounds, but, I believe for our resident Wolverine that it'll take a decade for not only this wound to heal, but others as well," said Hank as they walked through the building towards the auditorium where the presidential debate was going to be held.

"Well, I've got a little bit of Italian in my blood on my father's side; my father's mother to be exact. And when Italian or even Irish people fight, it's like a war that's been going on for a hundred years. You never know how the war started, but, from my observation of people with Logan's temper, a decade is exactly what it will take for him to heal from anything he's been through in the past. I mean, I am not the one to intrude on anybody's private thoughts intentionally, but, I do not need to intrude on Logan to know that he's a man with a past that is completely clouded," Jean said.

"Indeed Jean. When I'd first encountered him it was when I had been touring Alpha Flight's facility. If you had seen him at the time, you would hardly believe it," Professor Xavier said.

"Well, here we go," whispered Warren from where he stood next to Cecilia. They all took their seats in the large auditorium where the presidential debate was being hosted. "But, why do I have the oddest feeling that it's going to turn into a shit show?"

"Don't be pessimistic right now, Warren," whispered Cecilia. "We've got enough of that in this country right now."

* * *

**New Salem Mall Food Courts – One Hour Ago**

'Goddamn mutie freaks . . . if that good-for-nothing Senator Kelly won't do shit about it, then I guess some of us might just have to!' thought a bitter, angry Graydon Creed as he sat in the New Salem Mall in Chicago, Illinois. It wasn't ironic that he chose this particular location of all days, especially considering that the mall was not too far from Illinois Institute of Technology, where he knew that the presidential debate was going to be held.

Sitting there in the food court with Alyssa Risman – younger sister of Matthew Risman who was in anger over the fact that her older brother had gotten arrested by the X-men and SHIELD, Creed observed his surroundings. From what he understood, Chicago was one of the many cities in the United States that had the largest mutant population. It was no coincidence that he would pick the day of the third presidential debate, in a location not too far from where it was being hosted, to accomplish his goal that he was setting for that day.

"Creed, how long are we going to _sit _here and wait! The presidential debate is going to be in an hour! If we want to start something, why don't we just go to IIT across the street?" spat Alyssa Risman, wearing dark sunglasses that were shielding her eyes, as well as a long sweater to cover her body.

"Have some patience, Risman. I promise you that you will be able to avenge your brother's arrest. If Senator Kelly isn't going to protect us from the muties, than I suggest we push it and take it a step further. What is a mutant registration going to do? What is the MRD or those Sentinel robots going to do? Nothing, as far as I am concerned. They're good in theory, but until I see someone taking action, then I guess it's going to have to be the FOH," said Creed in a tone that sounded as though it should calm the young woman, but, it only fired Alyssa up more. "Besides, we do not do this alone. We have people do it _for _us. That's how it works."

"It's the simplest excuse of "someone made me do it," or, "the news made me do it," when in reality it's all that individual's doing. You should know of this better than anybody here, Alyssa," said another member who was sitting with them.

Alyssa Risman groaned, refraining from rolling her eyes. She knew that what Creed was saying was true. She remembered all the way back when she'd first joined the Friends of Humanity. It had been nearly a month ago when she'd decided that she wanted to make sure that her brother's arrest at the hands of a group of mutants was avenged. Joining the Friends of Humanity only fueled the young woman's anger more and more, because it spent so much time festering inside her.

"Believe me, Risman, this will work," said Creed in a tone that sounded reassuring.

* * *

**New Salem Mall – Present**

'I still cannot believe what had happened to me at school the other day . . . the fact that I am a mutant, of all things. In times like this, it really makes me wish that that isn't what I am,' thought Kitty Pryde as she walked through the mall with her parents, Carmen and Theresa.

After the incident that had happened a day ago with the food fight that had broken out at school, Kitty had ended up telling her mother and father of the fact that she thought that she was a mutant. Carmen and Theresa, being the worrisome parents that they were who had experienced their fair share of discrimination for their Jewish heritage, worried greatly about the fact that their only daughter was a mutant. Carmen saw how mutants were being kept from being lawyers and being active in the military because people felt that mutants' powers were dangerous. In fact, with the presidential debate currently happening not too far down the road from where they were, it further made the two parents paranoid.

However, Kitty insisted that she wanted to live her life normally even she was a mutant. That was why Carmen and Theresa were at the mall with their daughter, determined to keep her safe while she was out shopping for even more back-to-school clothing that she needed.

Stopping in Macy's, Kitty went off to the junior's section while her mother and father stayed to the side, talking quietly amongst themselves.

"Carmen, what if the neighbors somehow find out about Kitty?" asked Theresa Pryde nervous as she watched her daughter picking out clothing to try on. "I mean, you know, that despite the fact that Chicago is rather mutant-friendly, what people would think! There have been several riots at her school regarding anti-mutant violence!"

"Theresa, Kitty's tough. I've taught her how to handle herself by the time that she was three years old. If she can take care of herself and defend herself, then what are you worried about? Leave her alone," Carmen insisted.

"Carmen, hun, no, the world's crazy out there! Wake up! She's not just growing into a beautiful young woman, but she's also a mutant, and you know as well as I do that people are going to see her as that! I was a thirteen-year-old girl quite a bit of years ago. Things have changed. And by things changing, I mean having mutants who are open about their powers! Most aren't shy about showing off," Theresa noted, the worry evident in her voice.

"Theresa, of course I worry for the safety of our daughter; it's hard for me as a father to even think our Kitty is a mutant, but that doesn't mean I do not accept her as she is. And you know that. It's bad enough having parents who are survivors of the Holocaust and needing to hear stories of Jews being sent to the gas chambers and the ghettos," Carmen pointed out to his wife.

"Yes, I know, you're right, Carmen. I know, but we cannot be in denial over the fact that there are some pretty ugly things happening in the world right now. It's one thing registering people for guns . . . it's another to register people for just living."

While Kitty's parents continued to discuss their concerns for their one and only daughter, Kitty was in the changing rooms, trying on clothing pieces.

'I can only hope and pray that I do not slip up with my mutation here. That's the last thing that I need, especially with the rise in anti-mutant prejudice. If that happens, then I am fucked,' she thought to herself as she stared at her reflection of herself wearing a red, pleated skirt. 'All I want is to live life normally, and I want everyone to leave me alone. Ever since I'd told my mom and dad about my powers the other day, they've been hovering over me! Even waiting outside my bathroom! Who does that? God, I know they're worried, but, don't treat me like I'm a crystal wine glass! I'm no porcelain doll!'

Deciding that the skirt did not flatter her as much as she thought that it would, Kitty proceeded to change back into her regular clothes to go off and find something else to try on. However, just as she was about to put the clothes on the return rack, she felt herself accidentally bump into somebody else. However, instead of hitting the woman, she felt herself phase right through the person.

"Oh, sorry!" she said breathlessly as she arranged the clothes on the rack so that they could be returned.

"What did you just do?" the woman asked in surprise.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kitty answered back honestly.

"I know exactly what you did. You're one of those mutie freaks, aren't you?" the woman asked harshly.

Kitty instantly backed out of the dressing room area, feeling her heart starting to pound.

"Get out of here! Nobody wants your kind around here!" the woman called after her. Hearing someone outright reject her due to the fact that she was a mutant was something that felt more crushing than Kitty could expect. However, that was the moment that it seemed as though her powers were starting to go haywire, and she could feel herself phasing through clothing rack after clothing rack. It was almost as though she couldn't turn it off. That was the moment she felt her booming migraine she'd been feeling over the past couple days growing worse and worse, and she felt that she was almost in a way falling through the floor.

"AHHH!" she screamed out, her brown eyes growing huge as her fear overtook her, and she crash-landed in the middle of the food court. She could then hear shouts coming from all directions.

"HOLY SHIT! A MUTIE!"

"MUTIE FREAK!"

"GET OUT OF HERE! WE DON'T WANT YOUR KIND AROUND HERE!"

"GO BACK TO THE FREAKSHOW!"

Kitty felt her face growing bright red in shame and anger, cursing herself for her mutation as she tried rising to her feet.

* * *

**Illinois Institute of Technology Auditorium**

Meanwhile, during the presidential debate between Lilandra Neramani and Senator Edward Kelly, the X-men and Tony were sitting there, listening intently; knowing how they had to pay close attention. Scott, Jean, Ororo, Warren and Forge being old enough were all registered to vote. However, for Tony, the entire debate was driving him to drink, literally.

That morning, before boarding the plane, he'd taken several shots of Jack Daniels to quote-on-quote "relax." And then on the plane ride, he'd secretly stashed away flasks filled with tequila, gin and dark rum. Currently, he was drinking gin out of his flask, despite feeling the fast heart palpitations. He knew that he was supposed to have stopped drinking under Cecilia's orders. But the continuing stress of being a workaholic proved to be harder on the thirty-five-going-on-thirty-six-year-old than most would expect. Needing to manage two companies, plus worry about having placed Stark Pharmaceuticals in the hands of Hank and Warren was giving Tony even more anxiety than typical. If one asked Tony just how long he'd been drinking, he would say since mid-August when his stress became more and more.

Taking another gulp of gin, Tony breathed out a deep sigh. However, he could see Charles and Cecilia casting him some concerned looks.

'Tony, you know I never like to intrude on your mind, my son. But is everything alright?' Xavier asked him telepathically.

'I'm alright, old man. I promise,' Tony replied back as they continued to watch the debate.

"What I can say about the mutant issue is that a registration is not the answer," Lilandra Neramani was saying, replying back to the question of mutant registration. "It is something that violates basic human rights; now, I understand that you might say that mutants are not human. But, to say that would be highly unfair. And who is to say that a mutant registration would work? You'll be forcing mutants who are already scared of being out and open about their mutations to tell the government who they are, where they live, what their social security is . . . we do not register people for being alive. Guns are one thing. But, people with powers, that is a whole different animal. Tell me, would you say the same thing about Captain America who is considered one of the greatest war heroes?"

The X-men, Xavier, Pepper and Tony were left in shock and awe over Lilandra's words. The fact that she was arguing with facts that were completely true stunned them. To think that there was a presidential candidate who was challenging Senator Kelly's yearnings for a mutant registration was a great surprise.

"Okay, this one I like. She's got my vote," said Jean.

"Agreed, mein friend," Kurt said with a nod of his head and a smile on his face. However, as they all turned to look at the professor, they could all see the way that he was staring at Lilandra in fascination.

"Oh crap," whispered Warren. "I think the professor's found his match."

"Well, good for the professor," whispered Scott in agreement as he shared a look with Jean, taking her by the hand. Suddenly, that was the moment that they all noticed a few of the cops were starting to leave the room.

"Um, what is going on?" the moderator asked.

"There's word of an anti-mutant riot in the New Salem Mall close by here. We have got to go and handle the situation," said an officer, and the police proceeded to pile out of the room.

Getting up from his seat, Scott prepared to switch his image inducer off. "Are you going to go and handle this?" he asked.

"You're the boss, you call the shots," said Hank, taking his trench and hat off.

"Here we go again," whispered Cecilia, turning off her image inducer to reveal her uniform. The X-men proceeded to pile out of the space and shoved through the crowd that was pushing and shoving to try and see what was going on at the mall.

"Shit," whispered Tony as he maneuvered his way through with Pepper. Reaching for his flask again, he gulped down more liquor. However, the combination of his drinking and the huge crowd pushing and shoving seemed to be causing Tony's heart arrhythmia to get worse and worse. He felt sweat gathering on his forehead as his heart pounded in his chest, as though it were about to burst. His face went chalky as he leaned against a wall, trying to breathe.

"Tony, are you okay?" Pepper asked him anxiously. "Tony!" She noticed the way that he was clutching his chest, gripping his flask hard in his hand as he found himself sliding down against the wall.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

On the X-men's side, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Forge, Cecilia, Angel, Iceman, and Beast were making their way through the crowd of people towards the location of the anti-mutant rioting that was taking place. It wouldn't be like them not to interfere in a situation like this, especially if it involved a mutant in danger.

Finally, after five minutes of a struggle to get through, they could see the cops desperately trying to break up a fight between mutants and a group of people wearing berets that said "FOH" on them. The looks of hatred and anger of the "FOH" wearing humans was a sight that deeply startled them all. However, what disturbed the X-men even more was the fact that the attack seemed to be centered on a young girl who looked no older than thirteen-years-old. The fact that nobody was by her concerned Marvel Girl deeply.

"Kurt!" Marvel Girl latched onto Nightcrawler, and he teleported her over to the thirteen-year-old mutant who was cowering in the corner in a state of tears, as if she did not know what to do. Marvel Girl and Nightcrawler made their way over to the girl, kneeling in front of her.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's alright, it's alright," Marvel Girl repeated, leaning a hand onto the younger girl's shoulder. "Tell me your name."

"K-Kitty . . . Kitty Pryde," the girl stuttered out.

"It's alright, fraulein," Nightcrawler said softly to her. "Ve're vith zhe X-men . . ."

"X-men?" Kitty asked. Of course, she heard stories about the X-men on the news. She saw coverage of them fighting the Juggernaut and Magneto. But to see Jean Grey standing before her brought her a feeling of relief. The stark relief in Kitty's eyes struck something deep within Marvel Girl as she extended a hand forward with a kind smile on her face.

"I'm sure you've seen us in the news, but don't worry. We'll get out of here and we'll explain everything, okay?" Marvel Girl said, giving Kitty a hand up to her feet. That was the moment a rock got thrown their way. Before Marvel Girl could even put up a psychic shielding around them to protect them, the rock seemed to phase right through her, Kitty and Nightcrawler. Kitty's eyes were clenched shut. "Kurt, get us out of here," she said.

Nightcrawler obliged by teleporting them out of the mall. Beast and Cecilia were trying to break the crowd apart with the help of Iceman and Cyclops. However, that was when Cyclops' visor went flying off his head, and his opened eyes released a powerful blast of red right at the roof.

"SCOTT!" Rogue screamed, flying in and grabbing his visor, shoving it back onto his face.

"Thanks, Rogue," he whispered to her in appreciation.

"No problem there, sugah," she said in reply before flying off to break apart the crowd even further. That was the moment a powerful psychic pulse seemed to sound throughout the room.

"ENOUGH!" a voice called out, belonging to Professor Xavier who had Marvel Girl at his side.

"That's right, enough!" Marvel Girl said. "Come on, you're all adults, act like it! You want to kill each other in your own homes? Do it! This is not the place for this to happen! Period! Okay? I don't care who started it! End it, please!"

Marvel Girl's words were enough to shock the crowd into nothing but silence. There were several people there who were parents with babies, and those seemed to be the people who were embarrassed the most. Sometimes it took one from the outside to give their honest perspective to make you wake up. However, that was when Carmen and Theresa Pryde were pushing their way through the crowd of people standing around.

"Where's our daughter?" asked Theresa seriously. "Where's Kitty?"

"I got her out of danger; she's alright, just shook up," said Marvel Girl, leading the worried parents outside towards their child. Theresa took hold of Kitty in her arms, hugging her tightly.

"Thank you," she told Marvel Girl and Nightcrawler.

"Just doing our job," said Nightcrawler with a smile on his face as the other X-men came outside.

"Okay, I never want that to happen again," said Iceman, allowing his organic ice form to melt.

"Agreed. That was horrible and disgusting," said Rogue.

"Tell me about it. These people were animals," Cyclops said, going to Marvel Girl's side to wrap an arm around her. "Hey, has anyone seen Tony or Pepper?" he added.

"Shit," whispered Cecilia under her breath in realization.

* * *

**Up next: Sober **


	7. Issue 47: Sober

_The X-men of X-Corporation use their powers to fight for peace in a world that hates and fears them for being mutants. In times where the toxicity level towards mutants is growing and tolerance is shrinking, the X-men find that they are being challenged especially with an upcoming presidential election. _

_After attending a presidential debate between front runners Lilandra Neramani and Edward Kelly, the X-men found that they had to break up a riot started by a new hate group named the "Friends of Humanity", who are determined to spread hatred of mutants. Their attack was centered around an unexpecting Kitty Pryde, whose mutation just manifested during the school day. _

_However, while the X-men were breaking up the riot and saving Kitty, Tony Stark – their boss – had his health problems catch up to him. While the X-men had been in the Savage Land, Tony kept drinking heavily. However, his heavy drinking led to him developing a heart condition. Cecilia Reyes' ultimatum was "stop drinking, or your condition will worsen." At the debate, Tony's heart condition affected him in the form of a panic attack._

* * *

**Issue 47: Sober **

**X-Corporation Tower – Convalescence Room **

"Hnnn . . ." Tony Stark groaned out as he felt he was coming back into consciousness. The last thing that he remembered was being at the Illinois Institute of Technology with the X-men and Pepper, having been drinking out of his flask like his life depended on it. Then he remembered he had been experiencing irregular heart rhythm, almost as though his heart was about to burst from his chest, before he had blacked out with Pepper anxiously telling him to stay with her. He could hear a heart monitor nearby, as well as the sounds of whispers above his head.

"Dr. Reyes . . . how long have you known about this?"

"For the past few months, after you'd stopped Magneto on Genosha."

"That long? Are you _kidding _me right now?"

"Dr. Reyes, it's obvious what this is . . ."

"Tony's always been a workaholic for the longest I've known him. He doesn't stop . . ."

"He thinks of himself in terms of business, but not his health . . ."

Tony groaned again, his eyes slowly opening to see Scott, Jean, Professor Xavier, Rhodey, Pepper, Cecilia and Hank standing around him. He could tell that he was in recovery since he was in a hospital bed. He realized he was hooked up to a heart monitor. However, he could see Jean, the professor; Rhodey, Pepper and Cecilia were glaring down at him with disappointed gazes. Scott and Hank seemed to remain neutral.

"Morning, sunshine," Jean said, not even hiding the cynicism and disenchantment in her voice, tears stinging in her green eyes.

Jean Grey had a few reasons to now be in a foul mood. The presidential debate had been interrupted by a group of anti-mutant extremists, who had caused a riot in a Chicago shopping mall. As a result, she and Kurt had to go in a rescue Kitty Pryde, who had been stuck in a crowd of people fighting like animals. It had been a sight that she did not want to see. Then, Cecilia Reyes informed all the X-men that Tony Stark – their future employer, one of the men who had brought them all together – had had a severe anxiety attack due to irregular heart rhythm caused by an over-consumption of alcohol. Apparently, it dated back to the X-men being kidnapped and sent to the Savage Land. It wasn't if he had a heart attack. It was when he had a heart attack.

"What happened? Where are the others? I –" Tony started to say.

"Don't worry about us! We're fine!" Jean cried out, trying to keep her tears from flowing down her face. "You're not!" She tossed the empty flask that had been filled with gin down on Tony's lap. "Seriously, Mr. Stark? Dr. Reyes just told us everything! And Rhodey, Pepper and Logan found your stash of booze on the Blackbird! What were you thinking? Nearly four months! _Four months!_"

"Jean, relax," said Scott, going over to try and calm his girlfriend by wrapping his arms around her.

"No . . . I can't right now! I just can't _fucking _believe this!" Jean sobbed in Scott's chest; her voice muffled as he hugged her tighter. "I'm sorry! I'm _trying_ not to sound like a complete bitch right now!"

"Jean, you're not a bitch; you're upset and you've got every right to be," Pepper told Jean soothingly, her hardened gaze still focused on Tony.

"Tony, I have covered for you for these past few months! I've warned you about what would happen if you continue drinking this excessively," Cecilia said sternly. She moved to rub Jean's back as the girl continued to harshly sob.

Tony breathed out a sigh. "How much worse did it exactly get?" he asked.

"Luckily, for you, the only thing you've got to truly worry about is the heart arrhythmia. From what Pepper has described, you were experiencing the regular symptoms of it. The symptoms include dizziness, palpitations, pains in the chest; lightheadedness. It was a panic attack, which she was scared was a heart attack. But Tony, what you're doing with your drinking isn't managing any of this," declared Cecilia frankly. "If you do not stop, you will get worse, and you _will _die. I cannot stress it to you enough."

Tony closed his eyes, feeling the embarrassment. He could hear Jean continuing to cry in Scott's arms. He understood that Scott and Jean were both feeling disappointment on the highest level because they expected more from him. They expected him to be better than this. He truly felt as though he'd let his two prodigies down.

'I'm so fucking embarrassed . . . I cannot believe that I am so weak,' he thought

"And on top of this, a mutant girl that we had protected back in Chicago at that mall riot, Kitty Pryde; her and her parents are coming here to tour X-Corporation tomorrow. We'd told her parents about what we're doing here. Her parents are actually seeing this as an option for us to train her on her mutant powers, Tony. We cannot afford to have you neglecting your health for the sake of running two companies. The companies will be here. We will take them and run them to the best of our ability. Your companies will not suffer. Nevertheless, that means nothing if you do not get your health back on track," Xavier said.

"So, what happens next?" Tony asked, not liking the answer that he knew he was going to get.

"The same that goes for any alcoholic or addict; you need help," Rhodey said.

"Since you refuse to leave your workspace and it's practically your home, we will be having Dr. Moira MacTaggart place herself here to put you on a serious detox until you're sober enough," Hank said.

"Why Moira? Doesn't she have your son to take care of?" Tony asked, attempting at sitting up.

"David understands. There's a team of doctors on Muir Island as well as Moira's fiancé, Sean Cassidy. David will be in good hands; and I will be visiting him as I always do, which is average two-to-three times a week," said Professor Xavier.

"Professor . . . I can't allow you to do that for me. I don't need a pity party. I did this to myself; it's on me," Tony said.

"Mr. Stark, put your health first for once, please," Scott said, just sticking with wrapping his arm around his girlfriend, pulling her against his side and kissing her head.

Tony let out a sigh. He knew that he didn't have much of a choice at this point. He knew that his health was at risk due to his drinking problem, and he knew that as long as he kept this up, he was letting his employees and prodigies down. But, no one more than Scott and Jean, who had faced enough disappointment in their lives already by constantly having their hope snatched away from them. However, he also still had that strong sense of stubbornness that a Stark was known for, feeling as though he could take on the burden by himself without anyone's help.

"No, I refuse," he said stubbornly. Scott and Jean sighed in exasperation. They could hardly believe that they were both more mature than their own boss.

"Actually, you don't have a choice, Tony, because Dr. MacTaggart is getting the first flight out of Muir Island; she's already on her way," said Hank. "So therefor, get ready."

* * *

**Muir Island – Thirty Minutes Later**

"Look, luv, I don't know how you're going to handle this one. Dealing with mutants like your son is one thing, but, Tony Stark is the literal definition of a man child. Ye are talking about taking care of a thirty-six-year-old lad who has the thought process of a sixteen-year-old, lass," said Sean Cassidy in his thick Irish accent as he watched his fiancé pack her bags to head to New York.

Moira just laughed lightly. "Sean, I can promise ye that I won't be there that long. It's just until Mr. Stark sobers up enough to where he can function without the dependence on alcohol. But aside from that, I trust ye can handle David for these next couple weeks?"

"Hey, ye are acting as though ye have got no faith in me, luv," Sean told her, caressing her face gently. "Besides, Rahne's been keeping him company. Ye know it's been nearly two years since we've found her."

"Yeah . . . yeah I can remember that, Sean," said Moira with a soft smile on her lips.

She remembered back when she and Sean had first found their adoptive daughter, Rahne Sinclair. She had been a scared, eleven-year-old mutant whose powers of shape-shifting into the form of a wolf had grown out of control over time. It had been due to her scared, overly religious parents who had locked her inside a cage in an effort to perform an exorcism on her. Moira and Sean had had a run-in with her while they had been on a camping trip, due to Rahne having been running away from the terrified locals who had been looking to burn her at the stake.

Luckily, they had both managed to get her out of it with the help of Sean's fifteen-year-old second cousin, Theresa Cassidy, who had similar powers to him, and took Rahne to Charles Xavier who began to tutor her on her mutant powers. After Rahne had become stable, she went to live with Sean and Moira on Muir Island, becoming an adoptive sister of sorts to Moira and Charles' son, David. Now, that scared eleven-year-old wolf shape-shifting mutant had blossomed into a thirteen-year-old girl with a maturity beyond her years.

"I think that after having helped Rahne get control of her mutant powers, that helping Tony Stark reach sobriety should be a walk in the park. Until I get back, make sure ye spend some time with Rahne and David," Moira said, zipping up her suitcase so she could board the plane that was ready for her.

"Don't I always, luv?" asked Sean.

"And, ye won't be alone, because Charles is due for his visit tomorrow," Moira added.

"Ye know, ye, me and Charles have the most non-typical relationship for the fiancé of a man's ex-wife," Sean said.

"And ye can bloody thank God for that, Sean, because if we didn't, I am pretty sure David would go ape shit," said Moira as they exited the facility. "Ye know any little thing makes him unstable, so if anything happens while I am gone, let me know and I'll get the first flight here."

"I promise ye that, luv." Sean kissed her long and sweetly before Moira got onto the private plane being piloted by Harold "Happy" Hogan, Tony's bodyguard.

"Well, according to Charles, he just awoke," Happy said. "Jean took it hard. She's disappointed. According to Pepper, she was crying; she's deeply upset, and for the right reasons."

"Of course, she is; this is the man who is securing her future when everyone else around her let her down, and it's almost as though he doesn't care about his personal health," Moira said with a heavy sigh. "But believe me; even though this will be a breeze in comparison to handling David, there are times where I wouldn't want to deal with Tony. I'd rather deal with my son and my daughter, considering they're easier to handle than the lad who is thirty-five, but has the mind of a child. He shouldn't be near alcohol," she added.

"Tell me about it," Happy said with a shake of his head. "The kid's a workaholic. That's guaranteed to cause a great deal of stress, and his choice of stress relief is drinking. He better find another way to release it, sometime soon."

Moira breathed out a sigh. She knew Tony almost as well as Charles did. She understood that he was an addict; it came from the genetics, too. His father, Howard, had been an abusive alcoholic, which made Tony feel as though Charles was more of a father to him than Howard ever could be.

'I just hope I can help the lad, though I have a feeling Tony Stark is going to be more difficult of a case than my two children,' Moira thought.

* * *

**X-Corporation Tower – Scott's Room **

Scott was in his bedroom, organizing his CD and DVD collection for probably the billionth time in alphabetical order. It was often a joke amongst his friends that he had OCD. Maybe part of that was true. In fact, he had self-diagnosed himself as obsessive-compulsive given how meticulous he was about how he dressed, how clean his room was, and how organized the Danger Room sessions were.

Linkin Park, Skillet, Breaking Benjamin, Nickelback, Evanescence, and Three Days Grace were often the bands he collected albums from, considering he was raised on them. Thankfully, his father had always had the best taste in most things from music to movies. War films like Mel Gibson's _The Patriot _was one he'd remembered seeing the most, but his all time favorite was _Zero Dark Thirty_. So, of course, he had those in Blu-Ray. However, he also had a liking for all the _Dirty Harry _movies, classic 80's films like _War Games_, and westerns like _Unforgiven. _Also, his guilty pleasures included the original _Death Wish, Inglorious Bastards, Saban's Power Rangers, _and _Do the Right Thing._

Hearing knocking at the door, he turned to see his girlfriend opening the door telekinetically before letting herself in.

"Let me guess; you're organizing your movies and CDs again?" she asked him.

"You know how tense I am about this . . . maybe I got this from my dad. I remember him doing stuff just like this," Scott explained, organizing his _Johnny Quest, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Power Rangers Turbo, Power Rangers Light Speed Rescue, Power Rangers Dino Thunder, Thundercats, _and _What's New, Scooby Doo _DVDs. He had a spot in his heart for the classic cartoons too. _Justice League _and _Teen Titans _were common for him and his brother to be seen watching on a Saturday morning. "Though I think the professor is concerned with my obsession of films and albums. I keep having order after order from Amazon coming in the mail."

"It is concerning Scott; you're going to deplete your savings one day on stupid crap like this," Jean said. "What can I do to break you away from this for two minutes?" She walked over to him, rubbing his shoulders.

"Are you trying to turn me on, or something?" Scott asked.

"We're not even there yet, Slim." Jean had a teasing smile on her face as she kissed him gently. She leaned into his chest, closing her eyes. "I'm just worried about Tony," she admitted.

"Dr. MacTaggart, Pepper and the professor will help him get his shit together," Scott assured her, kissing her forehead.

"This is just so wrong," Jean said.

"I know, Jean, I know that you feel in a way Tony let us down, and he did, but all we can do is move on from that. At this point, we have to move forward. Besides, Kitty's coming tomorrow with her parents," said Scott.

Jean clenched her eyes tighter. "I know. But, Slim I picked up on her thoughts when Kurt and I got her out of there. She-She was so scared."

"I know, what happened today was terrifying. We thought we were just going to watch a presidential debate. Instead, we got thrown into a war at a shopping mall and we learn that Tony has health problems that go beyond drinking heavily."

"Scott, he's the son of an alcoholic; it's in his blood, literally. I've been around enough addicts in the mental hospital to know how dependency on drugs and alcohol can make a person." Jean felt her eyes burning with tears.

Scott hugged her tighter, guiding her towards his bed and lying beside her. "It's gonna be alright, Jean," he whispered. He kissed her forehead gently.

* * *

**Kurt's Room**

For Kurt "Nightcrawler" Wagner, becoming part of the X-men after precisely a week was something that the young mutant tried wrapping his head around. But what he had a much harder time wrapping his young mind around was the fact that he had Rogue as an adoptive sister due to Mystique being his biological mother.

Kurt always knew from the time that he was three that he was different. His ability to teleport and his demonic appearance only further validated what he feared the most about himself. But, being in the circus, he wasn't actually afraid of the cage fighting. He was more so afraid of what could happen if he were outside the circus. He could only pity those who thought that they hated him.

'Vov . . . I vould never think zhat mein life could change so quickly in a flash,' Kurt thought, his hands folded in prayer as he prayed silently for Tony.

As Kurt continued sitting there in solitude, he heard his door opening to see Anna-Marie "Rogue" D'Ancanto, his adoptive sister, coming into the room. Kurt opened his yellow eyes upon realizing who it was.

"How did ya know it was meh, sugah?" Anna-Marie asked him.

"Had a feeling, Rogue," Kurt whispered. "Tell me . . . is Mr. Stark going to be alright?"

"Dr. MacTaggart is comin' in from Muir Island. She's going to start treatment for him immediately; Ah don't know how willing he'll be towards it, though," Rogue said quietly as she sat on Kurt's bed. "However, Ah did wanna address the elephant in the room. Ah-Ah never thought that we were . . ."

"Me neither, mein sister," Kurt said quietly. "I didn't even know Mystique is mein biological mother . . ."

"But, ya did always know somehow that you were different, right?"

"Of course, I did. Vhen you look like how I look, it's hard not to tell zhat I am somehow different from others. I used to zhink of meinself vone vay, but, after learning vhat mutants vere, and being thrown into zhe circus . . . I began to see somezhing else entirely. I'm still me I zhink, but, zhat's not vhat everyone else sees." Kurt smiled ruefully.

"Ah know how ya feel there," Rogue said. "After mah powers manifested . . . Ah didn't even know who Ah was anymore. But then Mystique showed meh what a mutant was . . . and what she was training meh to be. She was training meh to become somethin' of a supremacist. But, Ah just knew after absorbin' Ms. Marvel that that wasn't meh, and Ah had to somehow reinvent mahself. Scott and Jean found meh in the woods, scared, cold; alone. They offered meh a second chance, one Ah probably didn't deserve given what Ah did."

"Everyvone deserves a second chance at redemption, Anna-Marie," Kurt whispered.

"Ah realize that now. But there is one good thang that came outta this crap. Ah gained a little brother." Anna-Marie smiled genuinely at Kurt, leaning in and kissing the blue, fuzzy, elf of a mutant through her scarf. Kurt smiled in return, happy to have a sense of family.

* * *

**Lobdell Veteran's Housing **

"NO MORE MUTANTS! NO MORE MUTANTS! NO MORE MUTANTS! NO MORE MUTANTS!" shouted the angry crowd of Friends of Humanity followers as Graydon Creed and Alyssa Risman took the stage.

"KILL THE MUTIE FREAKS!" shouted one of the followers who were holding a sign that had the X-men's newest member, Kurt Wagner, plastered on it with anti-mutant slurs.

"Now, now, now, everyone; what we had just accomplished in Chicago was just part of phase one," said Graydon Creed calmly, but his words just got everyone in the room angrier and more upset.

"C'mon, Creed! How can you be so calm over this? How?! And word has it, those mutie freaks Tony Stark has got working for him just got a thirteen-year-old brat from Chicago who will be starting to train with them! Training children to be soldiers for them! What is next?!" screamed an angry woman, who was holding a sign with Warren Worthington III's face on it crossed out, words like "monster," "mutie," "freak," and "roach" written on it like graffiti.

"And what about that Hank McCoy monster? Doesn't he volunteer at a hospital for the blind?" shouted another follower. "A freak like that shouldn't even be _touching _people! What the fuck? Is this a _joke? _What has it come to in this country? How about protecting _actual _human rights, and not the rights of those frigging cockroaches?"

"I understand where all of your anger is coming from. Those freaks put my brother into prison," said Alyssa Risman eloquently. "But I honestly feel that our next plan should be taken to the next level. Think of who is _encouraging_ the freaks to go out and vote for their rights. Lilandra Neramani. She could be a mutant, for all we know! That's the last thing that we need: a mutant for a president."

Cruel laughter roared throughout the room, various people throwing food at a campaign poster of the Libertarian nominee, flipping the bird and screaming in anger. Alyssa Risman and Graydon Creed just smiled coldly at the sight. Their plan was more effective than they ever thought it could be: gather up people angry enough at mutants, and have them make up the classic excuse that someone made them do it. It worked with groups like the KKK and Westboro Baptist. Why couldn't it work for anti-mutant groups such as the Friends of Humanity? For Alyssa and Creed, it was almost too good to be true.

* * *

**Up next: Chauvinism Part 1**


	8. Issue 48: Chauvinism Part 1

_In times where the nation is divided on the mutant issue, the X-men of X-Corporation must fight for peace and harmony among humans and mutants. Given what they've experienced over the past year, the X-men are determined to make sure that things do not get any worse. _

_Two weeks prior, the X-men had to stop a riot in Chicago provoked by the Friends of Humanity, an anti-mutant hate group determined to avenge the arrest of Matthew Risman – the brother of one of the FOH members Alyssa Risman. However, during that riot, Tony Stark's health issues from heavy drinking hit him when he had a panic attack, which was thought to be a heart attack. Now, Tony must be on a strict detox program underneath the supervision of Doctor Moira MacTaggart, who has left Muir Island to temporarily place herself in X-Corporation._

* * *

**Issue 48: Chauvinism Part 1 **

**X-Corporation Tower – Danger Room **

"C'mon everyone, all of you runts, pick up the pace!" Logan hollered as he watched the X-men go through another Danger Room session, the second one of the day.

The two weeks following Tony's health issues being exposed and Kitty Pryde's recruitment to the X-men seemed to be going by slower and slower. Kitty's recruitment meant getting her fitted into an X-man uniform and placing her in the local Marsden Regional Middle School, where she could be close enough to where Bobby went to school. However, Moira MacTaggart placed herself in X-Corporation Tower to make sure he stuck to his detox and sobered up.

"Why does he say "runts"?" Kitty asked as she ran through the obstacle course.

"I don't know why," Jean said, putting up telekinetic shielding around her to protect herself from incoming paintballs.

"Again, I never understand vhy you have machines vith paintballs," said Kurt, teleporting up high onto the ceiling.

"Rule number one of being out in the field: be prepared for the worst to happen," said Scott, firing an optic blast at a century gun.

"Amen to that, sugah," Rogue said, borrowing some of Bobby's powers to freeze a nearby tentacle.

"Anna-Marie, a little head's up next time would be nice!" Bobby said.

"Sorry, sugah," Rogue apologized.

Ororo and Hank were currently holding their own in the session, as well as Cecilia. Looking up at the clock, Kitty could see that they only had two more minutes left on the clock to complete the objective of the session: fighting members of the newest anti-mutant hate group, the Friends of Humanity. The cannons, tentacles and paintballs were just added by Logan for extra measures. She was luckily a fast learner and somehow, she'd managed to earn a spot in Logan's heart like Scott, Jean and Rogue had.

"Two minutes left, everyone," Ororo said as Kitty phased her way through several bullets that were being shot at her. After the incident that happened at the New Salem Mall in Chicago those weeks ago, she was determined to not let her guard down again. For a thirteen-year-old girl, Kitty was already impressing Logan with her toughness and her determination, considering she had a father who was a colonel in the army.

"Keep phasing Kitty," Warren said, taking out the tentacles.

"A minute and thirty seconds left!" announced Jean.

"Iceman, finish this!" Hank called out.

"On it, Beast!" Bobby said, flying in and freezing all of the Friends of Humanity guards.

"End simulation!" Logan shouted to Forge. "Alright, good work, kids. Now, go, scram!"

"You're not even going to make a comment about what we did wrong?" asked Jean, smiling.

"Do you want me to?" Logan asked his surrogate "daughter" in a serious tone, putting his famous glare on his face.

"No; okay, guys, we've got the rest of the day off, let's go!" Warren said. "That's our cue!"

The X-men all left the Danger Room, retiring to their rooms for the rest of the day. For Scott and Jean, they went off to Jean's bedroom. The two said that they weren't having sex. Bobby and Warren were not convinced of that, though. Jean sometimes came out of Scott's bedroom in the morning wearing his shirt on more than one occasion like Candy once did with Warren after their many passionate nights. In fact, Warren got a kick out of seeing their faces go red when he would make assumptions about their sex lives.

Jean collapsed onto Scott's bed, pealing her X-man uniform off of her body and pulling on a pair of velour sweats and one of Scott's Breaking Benjamin t-shirts, lying flat on her back after Scott changed into sweats and a plain shirt. He leaned down, kissing her lips lovingly.

"Mmm . . . I like this," Jean whispered against his lips, kissing him back as he straddled over her, cradling her face in his hands gently. She smiled tenderly at him, her green eyes filled with love and adoration for her boyfriend.

"Me too; we need more moments like this," Scott agreed.

"I think we get plenty," Jean said. She stroked Scott's cheek as she kissed him again. She pulled him closer on top of her, hugging him against her and burrowing her face into his neck. "But I am worried about Tony right now. Do you have an idea on how he's doing right now with Dr. MacTaggart's detox that she's putting him on? He doesn't let any of us see him at all."

"I honestly do not know. All I know is that this detox is tough on him," said Scott, stroking Jean's face. "But you know he hates showing vulnerability; he hates feeling weak."

Jean let out a sigh, closing her eyes as she allowed Scott to kiss her again. "He's allowed to have us worry and care for him. If I didn't care, I wouldn't want to see how he's doing. I know he doesn't want our pity. He needs to realize that we've got a right to worry and have sympathy and empathy for what he is going through."

"Do not worry too much. And besides, we should be looking on a more positive side to this whole shitty situation. We've got Kitty on the team now, we've got a politician from the Conservative Libertarian party on our side; we're together now," Scott told her.

"I know, Slim, I know; I always try to look on the positive and be optimistic, but these past few weeks have been madness. I mean, who would have thought that we getting kidnapped by a crazy mad scientist would force us to admit how we feel about each other?"

"Well, hopefully we do not have to deal with Sinister again; I swear to God, if I have got to look at his face . . ." Scott had a glare on his face as he said those words.

"Hey, easy," Jean said. "Besides, we need some stress relief; you want to watch _Zero Dark Thirty?" _

"Yes." Scott got off her body and got up to plug the movie into the Blu-Ray player. Turning up the volume on the TV, he and Jean proceeded to watch the film together, resting comfortable in each other's arms as Scott kissed the top of her head.

* * *

**Convalescence Room **

For what felt like the umpteenth time in those two weeks of detoxing, Tony could feel the nausea and dizziness coming over him and the bile starting to rise in his throat.

The two weeks of being on Moira MacTaggart's detox program have been hell for the young man. In addition to the nausea, vomiting and dizziness, he was experiencing hallucinations and anxiety over the fact that he could not even have a sip of tequila to calm himself down. He was confined to the convalescence room of X-Corporation Tower with Moira and Pepper watching him twenty-four-seven with Cecilia Reyes' assistance. He felt like he was being babysat, and he hated that more than anything.

'I hate my life,' he thought as he threw up in a wastebasket nearby. He could feel he was starting to black out as Moira came behind him.

"This is the only way, Tony," she said to him, sympathy in her voice as she placed a hand onto his shoulder.

Tony spat into the trashcan, panting heavily as he started to sweat. "I hate this . . . kill me now," he groaned between heaving breaths.

"Not happening, lad," Moira said. "It gets worse before it gets better, unfortunately."

"That's not very encouraging," Tony groaned out.

"I'm sorry, Tony, but this is the way to do it. Ye are not allowed any alcohol this whole time; ye need to get clean. Ye are long overdue for something like this especially considering what Cecilia had told me about the condition of your health," said Moira.

"No, Dr. MacTaggart; I don't deserve your sympathy or your pity. You should not even be bothering with me. Besides, don't you have your son to worry about?"

"I do worry about David; I know he's in good hands now with Sean and Rahne. He will be fine. And Charles is with him on a visit as we speak."

"I just do not want you wasting your time with me, a thirty-six-year-old alcoholic who did this to himself, rather than your son, a mutant with out of control psionic powers who needs to be sedated twenty-four-seven," Tony told her.

"Ye are worth it. Ye are allowed to have people care and worry about ye, ye know," Moira said quietly as she got Tony back into his bed, hooking him up to an IV to re-hydrate him and get him as comfortable as possible. As the sweat continued down his face, Tony felt his nausea happening again as Moira placed a cold, damp cloth on his forehead. Slamming his eyes shut against the bright lights of the infirmary, Tony willed for sleep to come.

* * *

**Muir Island Research Facility – Psychic Wing **

"How is he doing?" asked Charles Xavier as he rolled through the psychic wing of Muir Island Research Facility with Sean Cassidy, the fiancé of his ex-wife, at his side.

"The same," Sean said in his thick, Irish accent. "And it's unfortunate. We might need ye here more often for some psychic interventions on David."

"He's my son, Sean; not a patient to me," Charles insisted. "I do not want David to think that I am just here to control him."

"I know that, Charles, but I'm becoming concerned about David's condition; he's only going to get all the more powerful as he gets older. His mental health issues only add fuel to the fire, unfortunately," Sean said as they approached Charles and Moira's son, David's, room.

"Can you please keep me up to date with anything that is going on in the U.S?" Charles asked. "Because I am aware that Lilandra Neramani, the Libertarian presidential nominee, is having a campaign rally this evening that will be broadcasted on the news; there's always a chance for something to go wrong," he added.

"Charles, I do not know why ye concern yourself with American politics. Maybe ye should find something else to watch beside the news. Something less destructive, like slasher movies," said Sean.

Charles lightly chuckled. "Sean you know as well as I that I cannot; it wouldn't be like me to not keep up to date with all of this," he said as they got closer to David's bedroom.

"I'll give ye both some privacy," Sean said with a smile.

Charles nodded, opening the door to his son's bedroom to find David playing a game of cards with Rahne.

"Hi, Professor," Rahne said with a smile, getting up to leave Charles alone with his son, not before pressing a kiss against his cheek.

"Hi, Dad," David said softly.

"Hi, son, how are you holding up?" Charles asked, sitting across from his child. His son had just turned twenty-four; the young man was close to his mid-twenties, and he couldn't even leave the facility because his powers made him a danger to everyone around him.

"Slightly better," David said. "Though I can still hear all of _them _in me head," he added, referring to the forty-five personalities living inside his head.

"You've got multiple personality disorder on top of psychic abilities; it's just harder for you to manage, my son," Charles said.

"I want nothing more than to learn to manage it, Dad, but that's near impossible," David said. Suddenly, that was when Charles could see the walls around them starting to warp.

"David, relax your mind," Charles whispered.

David took a deep breath, trying to organize his thoughts together. He oftentimes couldn't sleep at night and had to be sedated with so many sedatives, they were equivalent to an elephant tranquilizer. It got to a point where David was becoming immune to most sedatives. Charles in many ways felt guilty for feeling as though he was not doing enough to help his child.

"Dad; you're doing everything that ye possibly can," David said as he continued to struggle with organizing his mind. He clenched his jaw in pain as he felt the surge of his psychic powers. His powers caused intense headaches very often.

"Am I?" Charles asked his son as he watched his child struggle for control.

"Yes, ye are . . . all of this is out of your control, and mine, and Mum's," David said.

"We've been trying to research ways to help you for years; believe me when I say that, son," Charles whispered.

"I do," David groaned out, rubbing his head.

"Do you need any help with –?"

David nodded, clenching his eyes shut as the stabbing pain in his head got worse. Charles proceeded to enter his son's mind, trying to help David find his shields to help him gain some control. Finally, after five minutes, David seemed to relax.

"So, how are things going back in the states?" he asked his father. "I know about how things are going with that company of yours. I take it that it's starting to become fairly successful?"

"They've been going well. I've told you about the two mutants I've adopted, Scott Summers and Jean Grey; I guess you could say that they're your adoptive brother and sister," Charles said. "There's plenty more to tell."

"I'm all ears, Dad," David said, leaning back in his seat.

* * *

**NYU **

Life for Lilandra Neramani as the Conservative Libertarian presidential nominee meant needing to deal with animosity from extremists who were against her pro-mutant campaign. However, the ugliness was a lot for the woman to take in.

Being a successful business woman and an owner of two companies, Lilandra had been born into the business world and groomed to become the successful owner of Chandilar Industries and Aerie Law Firms from the time she was a baby. Both her parents would take her with them to work and make her observe everything. This, in combination with her high intelligence, made Lilandra the perfect person to take over her family's company.

Now, with that evening being one of her last campaign rallies, Lilandra knew that she had to keep the crowd on her side, because as long as she had the support of mutants and other minorities, that she would end up winning. But, she also knew she was neck in neck with Senator Edward Kelly, who had his own share of followers who were filled with hatred for mutants. Being a person who had over a hundred mutants employed at both her companies, Lilandra understood how important it was for her to keep fighting. She looked around at what was going on in the United States with mutants who were struggling with finding jobs, mutants who were not allowed health insurance; mutants who were forced to be discharged dishonorably if their mutations were discovered by the military. For Lilandra to see this kind of injustice towards people, it sickened her deeply.

Preparing herself before her campaign rally, she proceeded to speak with her vice president, Evangeline Whedon, a mutant with ability of shape-shifting into a dragon-like creature. Evangeline was another unfortunate mutant who had lost her job due to her mutation. She had once been an attorney, but, after her mutation had been exposed, Evangeline was disbarred. That was when Lilandra approached her about employing her and giving her a different opportunity until she could afford to open up her own law firm and get her license back to practice law.

"Evangeline, are you ready for this?" asked Lilandra to her VP.

"More than ready," Evangeline said with a nod. "This is one of our last chances to make sure that you get the votes. I mean, mutants love you; humans who ally themselves with mutants love you. But, we're also dealing a rise in even more anti-mutant sentiment. I mean, look at what had happened two weeks ago during the debate: an anti-mutant riot at a shopping mall in Chicago."

Lilandra nodded. She knew that her vice president was right. "Yes, you're right, Evangeline; well, we'll be starting soon. All we can do is our best, even though we know tonight, we're going to get protesters. I can guarantee that," she said.

"Yes, I know that you know," Evangeline said softly.

While Lilandra and Evangeline prepared themselves for the rally, in the gathering crowd sat FOH founder Graydon Creed with his followers, all wearing trenches to disguise their selves. The weather being colder outside than usual for a September night, it didn't make them look even the least bit suspicious to the crowd surrounding them.

'We are another step closer to making our message heard about the mutie freaks,' Creed thought to himself as he sat there, his eyes shrouded by dark sunglasses. The riot at that mall in Chicago was just one small thing. Attacking the presidential nominee by rioting at her event was another step towards what he wanted to accomplish with the Friends of Humanity.

Creed allowed a bitter smile to creep onto his face as the rest of his followers waiting outside. He knew there was no chance he would be allowed to have his gun in there given the metal detectors, but, his other followers outside had them. He didn't care if he had to use violence to make himself be heard; he was going to do whatever he felt was necessary, not caring who got hurt in the process.

* * *

**Up next: Chauvinism Part 2**


	9. Issue 49: Chauvinism Part 2

_The X-men of X-Corporation are determined to use their mutant powers to fight for peace, and not chaos. Nonetheless, anti-mutant discrimination continues to be on the rise. The closer it gets to the presidential election, the worse it seems to get as the two front runners, Lilandra Neramani and Edward Kelly duke it out. _

_However, the X-men are proved to be faced with bigger problems. Tony Stark – their boss – is in recovery for alcoholism. Add to that, the Friends of Humanity is on the rise with their anti-mutant agenda. Their most recent attack was the New Salem Mall in Chicago, where Kitty Pryde was caught in the crossfire. Now, the FOH plan to attack Lilandra Neramani's campaign rally to further spread a message of hate._

* * *

**Issue 49: Chauvinism Part 2**

**Across the Street From NYU **

'Shit . . . out of all things I'd pictured doin' on my Saturday night, goin' to NYU ta keep an eye on Libertarian party nominee Lilandra Neramani wasn't one of those things,' thought Logan Howlett as he sat inside the campus of NYU with Anna-Marie "Rogue" D'Ancanto and Ororo "Storm" Munroe.

Logan hadn't planned on being at Lilandra Neramani's campaign rally with Rogue and Storm, but, when Professor Xavier had told him the other day that he should keep watch over it, Logan knew Charles was serious about it.

"_Chuck, are you serious about this?" _he'd asked.

"_Yes, Logan, I am. Typically, Tony would be going with Pepper to keep watch over event such as this, but, he's on detox. I will be with my son tomorrow on a visit. That leaves you; you may select whichever X-men of your choosing for this," _Professor Xavier had told him.

That was why Logan found himself outside NYU, keeping watch on the campaign rally with Ororo and Anna-Marie at his side, looking on through binoculars.

"Logan, why did ya have ta choose the two of us?" asked Anna-Marie.

"Because, kid, ya two are startin' to prove yerselves capable, plus, I felt Cyke and Jeannie could use a break," Logan said, wearing dark sunglasses over his eyes.

"Giving Scott and Jean a break; I've never heard of that one before," Storm said lightly. "I think you training us, a bunch of teenagers, has softened you quite a bit."

"Don't test my temper, darlin'," Logan told her, smiling at Ororo in return.

Ororo grinned, her blue eyes seeming to flash. As the three sat there, miles away, Lilandra Neramani stood up behind a podium on the NYU football field, getting ready to speak and say her speech she had prepared earlier that week. Looking behind her at her vice president, Evangeline Whedon, Lilandra smiled as she proceeded to talk into the microphone.

"Thank you, it is an honor to be here on the campus of NYU, for one of my last presidential rallies before the election starts. As you know, we are all still shaken up by the attack that had happened two weeks ago in Chicago at that shopping mall. Who caused it, nobody truly knows for sure how or why. But, I do know, and I can promise this, my first act as president of the United States of America will be to protect the rights of mutants, ensuring their safety to assure that they will have the same equal rights that all human beings have. It says in our Constitution, "All men are created equal." Yes, that has proven to be true; women were also given rights and independence especially during the Roaring Twenties. I am not saying that mutant rights will just be given over night. I am not saying that it will be easy.

"Yes, I understand that there are some mutants out there, who use their power to do evil in the world. But, you can say the same about humans. A human doctor can so easily be corrupted when opportunity presents itself. How many doctors have been arrested and sued for malpractice? But, that doesn't mean that we should label all doctors the same way. It's the same thing with police offers. There are crooked cops out there who violate their position and use it to spread hate, but, there are so many cops out there who are brave enough to step in and do the right thing. That's called being a hero. Sure, there are mutants out there who are dangerous. But, that does not mean by any means necessary that mutants should be painted with the same brush. That doesn't mean we should arrest all mutants and fear all mutants. There could be that one good mutant out there who can save your life one day. There are mutants out there looking to do the right thing. I think the perfect example of this is the X-men. They are going out of their way to protect us, to intervene when they feel that it is necessary, because they feel the need to protect and save everyone, even those that hate them and fear them.

"Mutants are just men, women and children who go to school; go to work every day to provide for their selves, to makes something of their selves. Isn't that what regular human beings do every single day in this country? Isn't that the American dream? So why shouldn't mutants have that same opportunity? Additionally, what I plan for, as President, is to ensure that mutant children can go to school to get an education. If mutants have any particular mental health problems, they should have access to care that isn't corrupted. We look around and we see mental hospitals meant to treat mutants, but, those mental hospitals are more like prisons than anything else. That is something that must be changed; the change has to be effective when it takes place, so that we can make this country safer, for not just humans, but, mutants alike."

Lilandra could hear the applause gathering from the cheering crowd, many mutants standing there in support of her campaign. But, unbeknownst to Lilandra, who was concentrating on her speech, Graydon Creed sat there in the audience with his Friends of Humanity followers, growling in anger as he listened to this woman speak. Just hearing somebody speaking on the behalf of mutants everywhere was something that deeply enraged the man to his very core. How anybody could support this woman, he had no idea. Speaking into his comm device, he knew now was the time to initiate his attack on the presidential nominee.

"This is Creed?" he said. "Are you all in position?"

"_Sir, yes, sir," _said one of his followers on the other line.

"Excellent," Creed said with a bitter smile.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

On Logan, Rogue and Ororo's side, the three sat there, keeping close attention on what was going on out in the arena. Lilandra had made it clear that her rally was mutant-friendly, but, Logan felt that he, Rogue and Storm being members of the X-men would make them stand out like a sore thumb. Logan then took a sniff of the air, his animal instincts coming over him.

'Somethin' don't feel right. It stinks here,' he thought. 'I don't like it . . .'

Turning to Rogue and Storm, he looked to the two girls. "Ladies, I think ya should call the rest of the X-men . . . something ain't right here. I can smell it."

"Everyone?" asked Rogue.

"Do as I say," he insisted.

Rogue nodded, and proceeded to call all of the X-men. "Attention, X-men . . . get to the NYU campus as soon as possible. It looks like we've got trouble."

* * *

**X-Corporation Tower – War Room **

"Why do you think Logan called us?" asked Kitty as she slipped into her blue X-men uniform.

"For whatever reason he'd called us, it must be urgent," Jean explained, pulling her cowl up and over her head. "Besides, we've already called the professor. As much as he doesn't want to cut his visit with his son, David, short, he's on his way."

"She's right. And if someone is going to try and attack Lilandra Neramani – a member of the Libertarian party who just happens to be on our side – then we have to be there to make sure that she is safe. You saw what happened at that mall back in Chicago. We cannot have that happen again," Scott said.

"I'm pretty sure I still have PTSD from that event," Kitty said, shuddering.

"I think we all do," said Warren in agreement as they followed Scott to the Blackbird. "But right now, we have to make this a priority. I don't care if it's Senator Edward Kelly. We've got to protect everyone, including those who hate us. If we let extremists get away with attacking central political figures, then it could be a disaster for mutants everywhere."

"Well, you all might as well set that aside now, because I am telling you, we cannot afford to have anything happen. Not today," Jean said, boarding the jet and taking her seat beside Scott in the cockpit. She breathed out a sigh as Scott proceeded to pilot the plane towards the NYU campus, knowing what they had to do. Jean closed her eyes, reaching for Scott's hand. He took hers into his and gently gave it a squeeze.

Bobby sat in his seat watching Scott and Jean sharing a moment of tenderness, feeling the sadness returning.

'Why can't I have something like that with somebody?' he thought. Little Bobby realized; Jean had picked up on his thoughts. She turned in her seat slightly to look in Bobby's direction, noticing the younger teen was making the attempt at masking the pain that he was feeling. She swallowed slightly. Letting her hand drop from Scott's, Jean suddenly felt highly insensitive considering how alone Bobby was feeling and thinking she should be more empathetic.

'Jean, I know what you're thinking right now. I know you might be feeling guilt for how Bobby is feeling, but try to keep your head in the game right now, baby,' Scott told her.

'I know, Scott. It's just, I'm worried about Bobby. Because I know in a way how it feels to be very alone in the world; to feel misunderstood by everyone. And the fact that Bobby happens to be gay on top of this . . . he hides how he feels, but that doesn't mean I do not know what he's thinking or feeling,' said Jean in return as they reached the NYU campus. Landing the Blackbird down nearby, the X-men piled out of the jet to see Wolverine, Storm and Rouge already there, though Wolverine looked as though he could smell something bad was about to happen from a mile away.

"Wolverine, I do not know why you want us all here, but," Forge started to say. That was when they could hear gunshots on the NYU campus, as well as the sounds of screaming and rioting happening. "I spoke too soon."

"X-men, let's go! Remember, do damage control and break up the fight! And remember, no humans are to be harmed. And watch yourselves as well," Cyclops said.

"How's about telling them not to harm us, Cyclops?" quipped Iceman as he made a path of ice to glide on, grabbing Kitty, their newest recruit, by the hand. "Have you been practicing, Kitty?"

"Is that even a question?" asked the thirteen-year-old girl as she phased them through the walls dividing the NYU football stadium. Kitty jumped off Iceman's ice path and phased through the ground, coming back up and observing her surroundings.

She noticed a large group of men and women who were wearing the FOH berets and jackets. She recognized them as the group of people who had issued the riot at the mall nearly two weeks prior. That was the moment Nightcrawler popped up beside her in a puff of smoke.

"Seriously, fuzzy? I thought we talked about you teleporting unannounced!" Kitty said to him.

"Sorry, Kitten," said the Incredible Nightcrawler with a shrug as Angel arrived with Marvel Girl, Cyclops and Beast.

"Alright, boss, where do we start first?" Beast asked.

"Get all the civilians out of here, mutant and human alike. Also, Jean, track down Neramani and make sure that we get her to safety as well. I do not know who these people are or what "FOH" stands for, but I've got the feeling we're about to find out sometime soon," said Cyclops.

"Okay, Slim, we're on it." Angel and Beast went in, proceeding to get all of the civilians to safety, mutant and human alike upon Cyclops' orders.

'Cyclops, I take it you are at NYU?' asked the voice of Professor Xavier.

'Yes, Professor. Are you close by?' asked the young X-leader, leading several women and children to safety outside of the football stadium.

'Indeed, son . . . I'll be there shortly. Until then, improvise. I know you will do an exemplary job as always.'

'Yes, sir.' Cyclops ushered for more civilians to follow him out of the stadium, leading them to the safety of Rogue, Storm, Forge and Wolverine who had already called 9-1-1 for safe measures. Storm proceeded to fly in, using her powers to manipulate the winds to get even more civilians out of the way of the flying bullets that were being shot by the FOH.

Meanwhile, over on Lilandra Neramani and Evangeline Whedon's side, the presidential and vice-presidential nominees were being ushered away by their security that was there. However, the firing bullets and the screams and yells of the FOH were proving to be an issue. Evangeline had herself in her dragon form for safe measure as they were rushed to safety. However, that was the moment FOH founder Graydon Creed shot their security personnel down by firing his gun right at the security guards' chest.

"End of the line, mutie loving freaks," spat Creed in disgust as he prepared to shoot Lilandra and Evangeline dead where they stood. However, just as he fired the bullets, the bullets phased through the two women. "What the –?" Creed asked. That was when he noticed young Kitty Pryde there, who had phased Lilandra and Evangeline through the bullets just in time to save them both. "What the fuck?" he roared.

"Shut up!" spat Kitty in disgust. "Why do you hate us?! What did we ever do to you?"

"You were born, you stupid brat!" spat Creed in anger, preparing to shoot Kitty this time where she stood. However, that was when Creed was disarmed as Beast grabbed hold of his gun, Angel flying in to grab Kitty, Lilandra and Evangeline to fly them out of the way.

"Perhaps you are heedless, but this is a rather deadly armament, my dear friend," Beast said with a toothy smile.

"Shut up you fucking freak!"

"I would appreciate it if you restrained from using such volatile patois." Beast jumped down and tackled Creed to the ground, taking him out while Angel got Kitty and the presidential and vice-presidential nominees to safety.

"Thanks, Warren," Kitty said.

"Yes, thank you so much," Lilandra said, the gratitude evident in her voice.

"Just doing my job," Angel said with a smile as the ambulance finally arrived to give people medical attention. Marvel Girl and Cyclops went over to their youngest, newest member.

"Are you alright, Kitty?" Cyclops asked her.

"Yeah . . . Yeah, I'm alright." Even though she was making the attempt at hiding it, Marvel Girl could see Kitty was startled and even a little hurt by the fact that someone had told her that he hated her because she was born.

'That son of a bitch tried shooting me in the head in front of a presidential candidate! Why . . . why the hell is this happening? What have I done that is so bad?' Kitty was projecting her thoughts on a billion loudspeakers inside Marvel Girl's head. Letting out a sigh, Jean Grey knew that she needed to confront Kitty about the situation, because these were the thoughts going through the head of a thirteen-year-old girl who was just trying to live her life.

Marvel Girl went over and sat beside Kitty, placing an arm around her shoulders. "You're projecting your thoughts on a loudspeaker, or a dozen loudspeakers, honey," she said, noticing the tears filling the thirteen-year-old girl's eyes.

"That-That man . . . he attempted to kill me. He hates me . . . and he doesn't even know me. If Warren hadn't interfered, he would have shot me in the head. He-He told me that what I did wrong was being born!" Kitty said, sniffling.

"That's because these FOH people are clearly looking for scapegoats and they are looking for someone to blame, sweetie. We're easy targets because we have mutant powers," Marvel Girl said simply. "You're talking to a person who was locked away in a mental hospital because she would hear voices and make things move. This is something that is out of our control at this point. The only thing that we can do is just try our best to make things better by using our gifts to benefit the world. But nobody ever said that it would be easy. Anybody who thinks it's easy is delusional. It's constant work."

Kitty nodded, leaning into the redhead's touch as the tears rolled down her face. She sat there, just allowing Jean to hold her and comfort her. She felt her back being rubbed soothingly as she leaned further into Jean's arms.

Meanwhile, for Lilandra and Evangeline, the two women found themselves in a conversation with Professor Charles Xavier, who had just arrived in time, as well as Beast.

"Are you sure that the two of you are alright?" asked Charles to Lilandra.

"Yes, yes, Professor Xavier. I'm just fine. Luckily for the two of us your newest recruit saved us both. She acted on pure instinct to get us out of danger," Lilandra said as she looked over at Kitty Pryde, who was crying against the shoulder of Jean Grey out of pure confusion and hurt over the fact that she was hated by people who did not even know her.

"Well, Miss Neramani, I can assure you that the X-men will try to get to the bottom of this and find out whom these FOH people happen to be," said Beast in an assuring tone to the two women standing before him. However, looking over at Charles, he could see a look in his mentor's eyes. He couldn't tell what it was, but he knew that the look in the eyes of Charles Xavier was beyond admiration.

"Thank you, Mr. McCoy," Evangeline said with a polite smile on her face.

Just as Beast and Professor Xavier were wrapping up their conversation with the presidential and vice-presidential candidates, the two men turned to see Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym approaching them.

The blonde-haired genius of a man walked over to the pair, an expression on his face that read as a mixture of exhausted and horrified by what he had witnessed at the rally.

"Ahh, Dr. Pym; I see you came here to the rally as well," said Charles, turning to face Tony's closest friend aside from Pepper and Rhodey.

"Yes, Professor," Pym said, breathing out a sigh. The man who had at one point gone by the superhero alias as "Ant Man" looked rather disturbed. "I was here, as you know; I wasn't expecting anything like this to break out today, sir. But I wanted to talk to you and to Tony for quite a while."

"Tony is on a rather serious detox program right now; I do not know if he will be available to discuss things with you, but you are more than welcome to come by the office tomorrow," Charles said.

"Janet's not with you?" asked Beast, referring to Pym's better half, Janet Van Dyne.

"Umm . . . Janet and I, we're on a bit of a break," the genius scientist admitted. "But I've got a project I've wanted to talk with McCoy and Tony about for quite some time now. And I truly think that it is something that can help to benefit not only Pym Enterprises, but, also X-Corporation. I would like to meet with Tony as soon as I potentially can to talk with him about this."

* * *

**Up next: Mysterious Mojo Part 1**


	10. Issue 50: Mysterious Mojo Part 1

_In a world that hates and fears them for being mutants, the X-men continue using their powers to try and be elements of peace. Unfortunately, it is proving to be an uphill battle as the Friends of Humanity's presence grows in the public eye. _

_As the Friends of Humanity continue to be agents of chaos, discrimination, and detestation against mutants, there are also those who are looking for ways to try and make the world more peaceful. The X-men aren't the only ones who are hoping to prove that peace is a better solution than violence. Hank Pym – Giant Man – is Tony Stark's best friend since childhood, and has a pacifistic mindset and a peaceful view for the world. Pym having peace in mind, he is hoping to find better solutions to help Tony privatize world peace and aid the X-men in their quest for making the world peaceable._

* * *

**Issue 50: Mysterious Mojo Part 1**

**Pym Enterprises – One Week Ago **

"Hank, I do not know why this is so important to you. I know you do not like violence, baby, but, seriously? Creating an AI system with Tony Stark and Hank McCoy to put into emergency protocols to protect the whole entire world?" asked Janet "Wasp" Van Dyne as she watched her fiancé, Hank "Giant Man" Pym present to her his own idea of achieving world peace.

Just hearing that her fiancé wanted to create an artificial intelligence brought Janet feelings of weariness. She knew her fiancé to be an ambitious man, but he often went over his head and didn't think about consequences that could come with it all. More than anything, it made Janet determined to make sure that her fiancé didn't go through with this. She understood, though, that a huge part of why Hank wanted to do this was because he wanted to make the world a better place. He wanted the world to be peaceful. He was nothing more than a noble idealist like that of Professor Charles Xavier.

"Jan, you just don't understand what this could mean! Why the hell is the government relying on Sentinels to keep mutants in line, when they could have an AI system, based on _my _brain patterns, protecting the country? And this new project Senator Kelly is launching with that MRD is violating basic human rights. Think about what we can achieve. And I think the X-men would appreciate it highly," said Hank.

"But, Hank . . . you . . . you haven't had the best luck with mental health lately. Your bipolar disorder has been getting worse. I understand that you mean well, honey, but, think about the risks! You never think about the risks that can come with something such as this," Janet said. "Use your head!"

"Jan, honey –!" Hank started to say.

"No, let me finish!" Janet said angrily.

"No, c'mon, Jan, don't lecture me! I think I did plenty to prove myself these past few years! I gave you your job as my lab assistant, I put you in a beautiful home; I gave you nice things . . ." Hank was growing increasingly angrier, a sign of his bipolar disorder starting to flare up and threatening to have him go into a manic episode.

"Did you just hear the words you just used? "I _put _you here!" It sounds like you picked me up off of 42nd Street, and fucking _put me here! _Do not speak to me like that!" Janet growled. "Okay? Stop and think for two minutes before you go in plotting stuff like this! I can't let you –!"

That was the moment Janet felt Hank's hand backslapping her hard in the face, her head whipping to the side.

"No, Jan, you just don't get it do you? You do not see how this can benefit the world! Stop only thinking of yourself!"

"No, and keep your hands off of me! Okay? I'm done! You know what? If you want to self-destruct, then don't ask me to be part of it!" Janet spat, walking out of the room. She turned on her heel and stalked out of the lab, but before she could fully leave, she said, "I'll start packing up the apartment. I'm sleeping on the couch tonight."

* * *

**X-Corporation Tower, Tony's Office – Present Day **

"So, let me get this straight," Hank McCoy said. "You are looking to build artificial intelligence to add to United States protocols to keep the country secure?"

"Yes, McCoy," Hank Pym said simply. "We're living in a time where we are seeing the harm being done to mutants and humans alike. You saw what happened the other day at the presidential rally for Lilandra Neramani; it will only continue to get worse if we do not find some other solution to the problem."

"Well, old friend, I would typically support your decision, but you are talking about basing this AI, which you call Ultron, off of your brain patterns," Charles Xavier started to say.

"Not you too, old man," groaned Pym with a roll of his eyes. "First Jan, now you!"

For the past hour, Hank Pym had been trying to pitch the idea of building the artificial intelligence based off his brain patterns to Charles, Tony, and the other members of X-Corporation. However, like with Janet, Pym was hitting a brick wall trying to get them to see his side to it all. Add to that, Tony had managed to gather enough strength to force himself out of the convalescence room with assistance of Moira. Moira had placed Tony in a wheelchair, since he was still heavily weak and sickly due to his cutting cold turkey from alcohol.

Tony was currently wearing the Stark Industries sweatpants and white t-shirt he'd been wearing for nearly a whole week. He had a blanket wrapped over him as onslaughts of chills ran through his entire body. His head continued to spin and he continued to feel significant discomfort. Nonetheless, it did not mean he wasn't the least bit interested in what his best friend had to say.

"If Jan already warned you then I assume you did not listen to her," Pepper Potts quipped from where she sat next to Tony. "I've never known you to take anyone's advice, Henry, let alone your fiancé's."

"Pepper does make quite the point, Henry," said Xavier. "Basing Ultron off your brain patterns could lead into something rather catastrophic. Are you still in therapy for your bipolar disorder and depression?"

Pym was silent upon Charles asking him that question. "Uhh . . ."

"I take that as a no," said Beast in a stern tone.

"So, give us a good reason why we should back you up on this project? Why should we aid you?" asked Pepper.

"Can you all just think about the benefits that could come from us creating something like Ultron? I see a suit of armor around the world, protecting it from _anything _that means to cause it harm," Pym insisted.

"But why your brain patterns in particular, may I ask?" asked Charles in a serious tone.

"Professor Xavier, I can assure you that I am creating this AI with nothing but good intent; making sure to program into this AI that it will be used strictly for armistice, and not anarchy, I think we can and will make it work," Pym insisted. "I just want to use this AI to bring peace to mankind. Professor Xavier, you talk about this all the time. I think you, of all people I've grown to know and respect, could appreciate me creating something that will be designed to bring world peace. If this AI understands that its role is to be a pacifist; to protect us all from anything hostile, then why not create it? All I want, as a person who doesn't want war in this world, is to find a more nonviolent solution to a world that is completely divided right now, especially on the mutant issue."

Tony sat there, contemplating it. He understood that his oldest friend, Hank Pym, was a pacifist by nature, much like Beast. Of course, Pym would want to create something like an AI to privatize world peace. In fact, they both had talked about it when they had been in school together.

"Tony, you know how we've talked about this. When we were in school how we discussed building an AI that can potentially help protect not just the United States, but, the entire world," Pym tried to persuade.

"I thought that Ultron was just a fantasy, though," Tony said.

"Yesterday it was, my friend," Pym insisted. "But, between our resources at Pym Enterprises and Stark Industries and even X-Corporation, we have more than enough resources and funds to build Ultron now. All I am asking for is your support."

Tony let out a sigh. He knew that there was no persuading Pym otherwise. The man was almost as stubborn as Tony was.

"There's no telling if this could actually work," said Beast with a shake of his head. "But, I think, to make sure that your brain patterns are indeed the answer behind fashioning this AI which you call Ultron, I suggest you allow Tony and I to crunch numbers and decide whether or not this is the case. Do you have a prototype of this AI completed yet?"

"Yes, I do; it's sitting in my lab at Pym Enterprises as we speak," Pym said.

"Very well then; I think we should start making sure that everything adds up as soon as we possibly can," Beast said. "If what Henry says is true, and his brain waves are the only solution behind this, then, we can get started soon."

"Fair enough, Beast; that I can agree on," Pym said with a nod of his head. "I'll be at my lab waiting for you whenever you are ready." Pym proceeded to walk out of Tony's office; however, Charles and Pepper were still wondering if Pym creating an AI based off of his brain patterns was the answer behind world peace.

"Professor, do you honestly think that this could be the solution behind world peace?" Tony asked.

"Tony, if you want me to give you my honest estimation, I frankly think that this proposal is something that can lead into mayhem, but I cannot make Henry's decisions for him," Charles said finally.

"You want to give him the rope to hang himself?" asked Pepper as Tony got wheeled out of the room by Moira so she could take him back to the infirmary for him to rest.

"From what I have observed over the years, sometimes, you just have to let people learn things the hard way and learn from their own gaffes. I think that that is what needs to happen here," Charles said, even though he didn't like this one bit at all.

* * *

**Mojovision Studios – Hollywood, California **

Many would think that the life of being a mutant in a world that hated and feared you was hard. But, for Alison Blair, she considered herself to be the exception to this.

Armed with her ability of using sound vibrations to produce beams of light, Alison found that using her mutant abilities to become a huge star all over the charts of iTunes and Hollywood was much easier than she ever thought that it could ever be. However, the only real struggle she faced was the fact that not too many people wanted to book her as an act in their venues, or cast her in movies or TV. Knowing she could not lose another opportunity at a gig, the young woman understood that her meeting at Mojovision Studios had to go well.

With her manager, Sean Kirby, at her side, Alison stepped off her tour bus, her short dirty blonde hair streaked with highlights of hot pink, blue, and purple. She was wearing ripped jeans, a plain white t-shirt, and a black, studded leather jacket.

"Are you sure this is the place?" she asked her manager in a serious tone as she took in the sight of Mojovision Studios, which appeared to be completely shut down with no activity.

"Yes, this was the address that I was given, Ms. Blair," her manager replied.

As the two walked further up the studio lot, they could see a man in about his mid-thirties with dark hair approaching them.

"Ah, you must be Quentin Beck," Alison said with a smile. "You were who we spoke with on the phone?"

"Yes, yes, as a matter of face, Ms. Blair. In fact, my boss, Mr. Adams; he was interested in having you being part of this for quite some time. He's wanted you for his reality show for a while now, and we believe you could be the very thing that would bring us good ratings. Believe me; we need them more than anything. You help us, we'll help you in return; ever since our main cast member, Arthur Centino, quit last year, we were looking for someone to replace him for our show, _Mojoworld_," Quentin said with a smile. "Come with me, I shall introduce you to your opponent."

Alison nodded, proceeding to follow Quentin inside the studios, where she could see a tall young man with dark red hair standing there, flipping through a deck of cards.

"Webber Torque, meet your newest opponent, Alison Blair. I think you will find a note-worthy opponent in her ever since Longshot ended up retiring last year," said Beck.

"Ah, yes, I recognize you, Alison. Songs all over the iTunes charts," said Webber with a smile on his face.

"Thank you, but, it's been quite the struggle booking gigs at this point know that the world is less than kindly towards mutants. That is why I decided to take this, because anything that brings me a paycheck, I gotta do what I gotta do," Alison replied back.

"Well, we were hoping for you for a while. Ever since my co-star retired last year from the show, we've needed a replacement for him. At this point, with the recognition that you get in the mutant community for your music and acting talents, we think you're a rather fine addition." Webber smiled wider at the young, mutant pop star.

"So, when do I meet Mr. Adams?" asked Alison as she followed Webber onto the main stage, which was huge and vast.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I've never met the man, but, apparently, he's a television producer who was willing to give Beck here a chance at show business. You see Beck's had it rough, being a mutant with telepathic abilities which allow him to create illusions; he's been disgraced from the entertainment world because he cannot book a job as a stuntman or an actor. He's a master of his craft. He's got quite the amount of talent, but, he cannot find a job anywhere," explained Webber with a heavy sigh. "And they took quite the chance on me to get this show started, considering the only talent I've got is being an expert at video games."

Alison nodded along with this, seeming to understand.

Meanwhile, from where he sat, Mojo Adams – producer of Mojovision studios, watched on with a smile on his face. The albino, obese man sat there in his suit up in the control booth, watching as the two newest contestants of his failing TV show took the stage, which was laced with mutant power dampeners without.

"Are you ready, Mysterio?" asked Mojo.

"Indeed, Mojo; we shall begin the show," said Beck, grinning as his eyes proceeded to grow a shade of purple. Before Alison and Webber knew it, the environment around them proceeded to warp and twist around them, images and colors swirling and a sensation of them falling through an abyss overwhelmed both contestants of the TV show _Mojoworld. _

"What the hell is happening?" asked Alison in a panic.

"This is the start of the show," explained Webber as finally, the dizzying, falling sensation around the both of them came to a halt. That was the moment they could hear the sounds of a voice filling the air, and they took in their surroundings. Their surroundings seemed to be some sort of island of some kind; however, it was raided with technology beyond anything that Alison had ever seen before in her lifetime.

"_Ahhh . . . Webber "Arcade" Torque and Alison "Dazzler" Blair. I see that the two of you are ready for the games to begin!"_ boomed the flamboyant, over-the-top voice of Mojo Adams. _"Welcome to Mojoworld, the place where you fight for survival in a world created by our very own Quentin Beck – Mysterio! I hope the two of you are prepared to see who ends up winning. Also, no mutant powers allowed!" _

"Wait, what?" cried Alison as century guns suddenly started to fire every which way, forcing the young woman to dodge out of the way.

"You heard the man!" Arcade cried out.

* * *

**X-Corporation Tower – Rec Room **

"Okay, Scott, I'm telling you, if you compare _Injustice 2 _to _Injustice Gods Among Us, _I would say _Injustice 2 _is definitely the better game," quipped Bobby, who was in the middle of playing the story mode on _Injustice 2 _on the PlayStation 4.

"That we can agree on, Bobby," said Scott, watching as Bobby engaged in a battle as the Flash against Captain Cold.

"Can you two remind me why you're playing this right now?" Kitty asked, who was eating a bag of chips.

"Because, there's nothing good to watch on TV," Jean said. "Watching my boyfriend and Bobby beat the crap out of each other as they play video games is more amusing than cable television. That is unless you count that show with Anna Paquin's husband Stephen Moyer, and Amy Acker. Or how about that animated show with Nolan North and Steve Blum? I'm pretty sure reruns of that show still air on Disney."

"Very true," Scott said with a nod.

"Scott, I never thought you'd have enough time in the day to play video games," quipped Warren.

"Hey, I may be field leader of the X-men, but, that does not mean I do not have time in the day to do things like this. I've got other hobbies, you know," said Scott.

"I never said you didn't have hobbies Slim," Warren said. "I'm just surprised that right now you aren't sorting through your collection of DVDs."

"I could always plug in an episode of that TV show _Zoo," _Scott said.

"Scott, the plot of that show just gets stupid after a certain point. How many mutated, crazy animals can people hunt down on one show?" asked Jean.

"Hey, it was good until the plot got stupid," Scott said.

Suddenly, that was the moment the TV screen went black.

"What?" Bobby whined. "Oh, come on rip off!"

"Hey, for all we know, Beast and Forge are probably running their experiments downstairs," said Scott. "I'll ask them if somehow, that's interfering."

"I doubt that very highly, Scott," said Kitty, still polishing off the bag of BBQ potato chips.

"Kitty, don't eat all those. Those just happen to be my favorite," Jean warned. "I also hope you didn't finish off the rocky road ice cream in the freezer either."

"Nobody eats rocky road but you Jean; well, unless you count Kurt, with his metabolism," quipped Kitty.

"Alright, guys, guys, something's wrong with this television. I mean, didn't we just buy this a month ago?" asked Bobby, getting up to see what was wrong.

"Well, I see that it's on. I don't know what the problem is," Warren said.

Suddenly, that was the moment the TV screen flickered again, but instead of going back to the images on the PS4, it showed something else entirely. It showed an image of a young, blonde-haired woman and a red-haired young man fighting to what appeared to be the death on the TV screen.

"What the hell is this?" asked Bobby.

"Wait, Scott, isn't that . . .?" Jean started to ask.

"Alison Blair . . . Dazzler, holy shit!" Scott's jaw dropped.

"Who is Dazzler?" asked Kitty.

"Don't tell me you do not keep up to date with social media, especially mutant celebrities. That woman, Dazzler, she's an up-in-coming pop star and actress who has started to become huge in the spotlight as of lately. That's because she uses her powers of converting sound vibrations into beams of light energy to put on one hell of a light show to perform one heck of a concert. She's had songs all over the iTunes charts for almost a year," said Scott.

"How do you know that?" asked Warren.

"Are you kidding me? When it comes to staying up to date with the latest and greatest music and movies, my boyfriend's a geek!" Jean said with a roll of her eyes. "Whatever's going on, this clearly isn't normal."

"How can you tell?" Bobby asked.

"I just know," Jean said with a shake of her head.

"Do you suggest we suit up and figure out what is happening?" asked Warren.

"Is that a serious question?" Scott raised an eyebrow at the winged mutant, and they proceeded to exit.

* * *

**Up next: Mysterious Mojo Part 2**


	11. Issue 51 Mysterious Mojo Part 2

_Everyday, the X-men continue to try and be agents of peace in a world that hates and fears them. Underneath the mentorship of Tony Stark and Charles Xavier, the X-men found that they had to protect Libertarian presidential nominee Lilandra Neramani from the ever-growing hate group, the Friends of Humanity. _

_Nonetheless, there are others out there trying to find solutions to fight for peace in the United States. Hank Pym, Tony Stark's best friend, is looking to build an artificial intelligence program, Ultron. While Pym is hoping for Ultron to be an agent of peace, his ex-fiancé Janet van Dyne, Professor Xavier, and Hank McCoy think otherwise. _

_However, for the X-men, they find that even they cannot have their leisurely time interrupted. What had gone from them enjoying a video game turned into a moment of confusion. Two mutants named Quentin Beck and Mojo Adams – former producers of a failing television program Mojoworld – have kidnapped rising mutant pop star Alison "Dazzler" Blair to try and bring their failure of a TV show back on the air._

* * *

**Issue 51: Mysterious Mojo Part 2**

**Ditko School for Boys – Twenty-Five Minutes Ago **

Many would think that having one of your closest friends living so many miles away from you would be the worst thing that there was in the world. But, for Peter Parker, this was far from the case.

That weekend, Peter had paid a visit to his childhood friend, Harry Osborn, at the prep school that he attended out in Las Angeles. It took Peter begging his Aunt May to let him go, but he'd managed to convince her that he was responsible enough to board a plane on his own without an adult.

Sitting in Harry's dormitory at Ditko School for Boys, Peter and Harry were watching a James Marsden movie; however, neither were enjoying one bit of it.

"Okay, this movie is stupid," Harry groaned. "Marsden is barely even in this film, look at that. And this Famke Janssen scene . . . I've never been more disgusted with a movie before."

"Then why did you put this shit show on?" Peter quipped, grabbing a handful of popcorn and shoving it into his mouth.

"Was there anything better to watch on TV? It was either this, or that downright forgettable movie with Miles Teller, Kate Mara and Michael B. Jordan. That movie was disgusting," Harry said.

Peter nodded in agreement. "Harry, I think life at boarding school changed you, my friend," he said. "But I do not envy your situation. The year my parents left me with my aunt and uncle was the year that your dad . . ."

"I know," Harry said bitterly. "I wonder if my dear old dad told the world where his son is."

"Harry, we do not need to talk about this," Peter insisted with a shake of his head.

"How's M.J doing, by the way?" Harry asked.

"She's great; still the same as she was," Peter said. "And you know, Johnny, too. But when the time comes, I've gotta introduce you to my newest friends Bobby and Angelica; you'd like them. Plus, Bobby is Iceman from the X-men. My fifth best friend in my life is a superhero," he added.

Harry nodded, knowing who Peter was referring to. He, Peter and Johnny grew up together, best of friends, until Harry had gotten shipped off to boarding school by his father unexpectedly. Peter and Johnny didn't quite understand why that was the case, but Harry didn't like talking about it all. It was one of the many things that he was bitter about.

That was the moment the screen on Harry's TV went black, the film being switched off.

"Oh, come on! It was about to get to one of the only redeemable parts about this film with Kelsey Grammar!" Harry groaned.

"Dude, I know," Peter said, setting the bowl of popcorn aside to look at the television. "Well, from what I can tell, there's nothing wrong with the TV. It's turned on."

"So why is the screen black?" Harry retorted.

"I do not know," Peter retorted back as he went to further examine the television. "Let me see if I can tell what the problem is. I've built plenty of TVs and radios in my life to know when something isn't working."

Just as Peter was about to check and see what the issue was, the screen switched back on, but, not to their program. In fact, it switched to the image of some young blonde woman and a red-haired young man running for their lives on what appeared to be some sort of island.

"Wait, isn't that that Dazzler chick?" asked Harry with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, it is, from what I can see. Isn't this _Mojoworld? _I thought that thing got canceled because it sucked so badly," Peter said.

"It is," Harry said. "But who could be causing this show to come back on the air? Clearly, something is going on."

"Yeah . . . this doesn't look right," Peter whispered. He quickly walked over to his duffle which had his overnight stuff inside, but, at the bottom of the bag, it had something that he kept hidden deeply. It was his Spider-Man mask.

After the school trip to Dr. Curt Connors' lab which was in Oscorp, Peter had noticed something with him to be off after having been bitten by a spider which had been radioactive. He'd remembered having the sensation of feeling sick and feverish before passing out on his bedroom floor after having vomited in his bathroom.

When he'd awoken, he'd suddenly had reflexes of a spider and seemed to have enhanced senses and strength. It was something to him that had been so spectacular. In fact, he had yet to tell Johnny, MJ, Angelica and Bobby about it. Shortly after receiving this incredible gift, Peter had donned a costume and began committing heroic acts as the superhero known to New York City as Spider-Man.

However, at the time when he'd started his career as Spider-Man, his Uncle Ben had been shot and killed by a mysterious shooter in an alleyway, which led into Peter remembering his uncle's words:

"_Peter, with great power comes great responsibility." _

Ever since then, Peter had been determined to make his uncle proud of him by crime fighting responsibly. In fact, it had been the actions of Bobby – Iceman from the X-men, who had inspired Peter to want to start fighting for the greater good. Another inspiration for him was his Aunt May starting a homeless shelter known as F.E.A.S.T with one of Manhattan's biggest philanthropists, Martin Li.

Now, Peter found that he was faced with a situation where he felt the need to interfere. He knew that suddenly; a canceled reality show suddenly forcefully being put on the air was nothing short of odd. In fact, none of it made any sense to him. Quickly taking his clothes off to reveal the rest of his Spider-Man uniform while Harry was in the bathroom, he pulled his mask on over his face and used his web-shooters he had created to make his quick escape out of Harry's dormitory window. Knowing of the location of Mojovision Studios, Peter knew that he had to get there as quickly as he possibly could to figure out exactly what was going on.

* * *

**The Blackbird – Present **

"Alright, everyone, we're above Hollywood right now. Keep your eyes peeled, people," Cyclops said as he piloted the plane, Marvel Girl at his side.

"We hear you loud and clear, Slim," said Angel from where he sat beside Kitty Pryde.

"Besides, that Dazzler woman, I may not be the biggest fan of pop music, but her stuff I've got a weakness for," said Cyclops.

"I wouldn't have guessed," said Kitty sarcastically. "You're on top of all things music all the time, Scott."

Marvel Girl laughed lightly. "It doesn't surprise me in the least. He's been following Dazzler's work for a year. And I'll admit I'm growing fond of her stuff too."

"And that's why this whole situation is leaving me suspicious. I mean, _Mojoworld _was canceled after a year on television. Why would it be back on the air now?" asked Cyclops.

"I agree with you on that," said Iceman from where he sat on the jet.

As they kept their eyes peeled for any sighting of anything suspicious, that was the moment they could see the lights flashing on Mojovision Studios; the property was supposed to be abandoned with no activity. But it appeared to be active.

"Alright, this is our stop, X-men," said Marvel Girl, unstrapping herself from her seat. "C'mon, Iceman, Angel, let's go!" The three of them jumped out of the Blackbird, Iceman making a path of ice to slide down as he grabbed Kitty by the hand.

"Shadowcat, phase us in!" said Iceman.

"Wait, what?" Kitty asked.

"I think it's time you got a proper codename," Iceman explained. "How'd I do?"

"It's perfect." The thirteen-year-old – now known as Shadowcat – beamed, and she proceeded to phase herself and Bobby into the studio. Once they were inside, they could that the hallways were like a maze. But they could hear the activity going on inside. They could hear panicked screams and a calculated laughter.

"Marvel Girl, do you have any information on this place?" asked Shadowcat.

"_Yes, Mojovision Studios is owned and operated by a man nicknamed Mojo Adams and a man named Quentin Beck. Both are overzealous, yet failing film and TV producers in Hollywood who have been struggling with finding success. Quentin Beck is a mutant and he appears to have powers of telepathy which allow him to create illusions and manipulate reality. It's clear that whatever he is doing, he's got Dazzler trapped in some sort of world where she cannot use her powers. He's clearly making her think that she is on some island with technology that would make Magneto or Mr. Sinister jealous," _said Marvel Girl.

"Great, so we're dealing with two crazed, talentless bafoons who are looking to use their abilities to try and turn their failing TV show into a profit by kidnapping an up-in-coming pop star," quipped Iceman.

"_Pretty much,"_ said Cyclops_. "I'm taking the bird down. I'll meet you guys inside. In the meantime, we've gotta come up with a plan." _

"You're the one who strategizes for us, Scott!" said Shadowcat.

"_Well, we all have to think on our feet,"_ Angel told them. _"Okay? You guys are inside, get moving. Kitty, we've got faith in you." _

"You don't believe in me?" Iceman gasped out.

"_Sorry, Bobby, but Kitty is very reliable," _said Cyclops.

Iceman sighed and rolled his eyes, grabbing Shadowcat by the hand as she phased them through several walls to try and get them to the main stage of the studio.

'I cannot believe that we are doing this, of all things on a Sunday. This is _not _how I pictured it,' thought Iceman as he and Shadowcat continued to phase through wall after all. Finally, they made it to the main stage, but from what they were seeing, they were warped in a world where they seemed to be trapped on some sort of island, stuck in a tree.

"Okay, we've better find a way to get ourselves outta here," said Shadowcat.

"Agreed." Iceman tried to use his powers to create a slide of ice, but that was when he realized his powers were not working. "My powers!" he said. "Cyclops, Angel, Marvel Girl, do not go into the main stage! Find another way. My powers aren't working here for some reason! See if you can access the control booth!"

"I think somehow, Beck is warping reality to make it so out mutant powers do not work in this place. I don't know how, but he's managing to!" Shadowcat explained.

"_Understood," _said Marvel Girl. _"Just hang in there, you two!" _

That was the moment a nearby sentry gun proceeded to fire at the two younger teenagers, forcing them to quickly dodge out of the way.

"That was too close!" said Iceman.

"Let's just find that Dazzler girl and see if we can find her here!" Shadowcat suggested.

Iceman nodded, and he and the younger girl proceeded to walk through the reality-warped island together, dodging trap after trap that seemed to be in their way. However, they could hear the annoying voice of Mojo Adams.

"_Ahh, I see we've got two more contestants here for our little show! And they appear to be X-men!" _said Mojo.

"We're not looking to be part of your shit show!" shouted Iceman with a roll of his eyes as he noticed the obese, albino man sitting there in the booth which was floating above them. At his side was Quentin Beck, whose eyes were glowing a strange purple aurora as he continued to warp the reality around them. "And where the hell are our powers?"

"_That's what makes this challenge all the more fun . . . see how long you can last without your mutant abilities," _said Quentin Beck – Mysterio, from where he sat in the booth. He had a cocky grin on his face.

"This isn't my idea of fun!" retorted Shadowcat in an aggravated voice as her and Iceman continued dodging trap after trap. Luckily, their sessions with Logan in the Danger Room had prepared them for this. Logan had trained them to be quick on their feet, and in that moment, he'd be proud of them.

While Shadowcat and Iceman continued to dodge obstacle after obstacle on the reality-warped island of death, outside the studio, Spider-Man was observing. Taking notice of the fact that Iceman, his best friend, was involved in this, too, was something that left him in concern. He knew that his friend had trained to be put in situations like this, but, that did not mean the web-slinger wasn't worried. Opening up a window into the studio using his web shooter, the teenager swung into the building. Landing onto something that appeared to be a tree, Spider-Man took in his surroundings. However, looking up at what appeared to be a control booth of sorts that seemed to be floating, he noticed Quentin Beck and Mojo Adams there too.

"_Ahh, I see New York's resident Spider-Man has decided to join the party!"_ said Mysterio.

"Don't count on me sticking around for long! What the hell is going on? I thought your show got canceled because A. Longshot left, and B. it stunk on ice!" quipped the Spider-Man.

"_You could say that we found a way to get ratings," _retorted Mojo.

"By kidnapping an up-in-coming pop star and forcing this show onto everyone's television . . . so creative," Spider-Man quipped dryly in reply. "You know, you cannot force things onto people. It just turns them off!"

"_How's about getting out of here, you little pest, before we squash you like the bug you are?" _asked Mojo as Spider-Man landed down beside Iceman.

"Well, technically, my powers are based off arachnids – not bugs – even though they're in the same family of arthropods. And I wouldn't waste too much time forming words, man. You might need it later!" Spider-Man replied back wittily. "That's something you learn in fifth grade science class? Or was it fourth grade? I don't know. But, I gotta say, this isn't really helping your case too much."

"_Then, what do you suggest?" _asked Mysterio rhetorically.

"Well, I would suggest getting some talent or trying something more creative. Or, how's about you try out something I like to call the Spidey Special?" Spider-Man quipped.

Iceman turned to Spider-Man. "Hey, try not stealing the spotlight, man!"

"Sorry, Iceman!" Spider-Man said in reply. He started whistling a tune to himself as he shot a web at the control booth that Mojo and Mysterio were sitting in, using that was a platform to swing over.

'Why does he sound so familiar to me?' Iceman wondered. 'His voice sounds a lot like . . . no, it can't be. Peter's not . . . but, he _did _dodge Duncan Matthews' punch those months ago with a backflip . . .'

As Iceman stood there, contemplating it all, he noticed Marvel Girl and Cyclops up in the control booth. Marvel Girl seemed to be in a telepathic battle with Quentin Beck, and it looked as though she was winning since the warped reality around them seemed to cease. Before, they knew it, the stage appeared to be back to normal, and up in the control booth, Mojo and Mysterio were down for the count. Taking in their surroundings, Iceman and Shadowcat noticed Alison Blair and Webber "Arcade" Torque there as well. Alison noticed the two X-men standing there.

"X-men?" she asked them.

"_Yeah, you could say we were in town, conveniently," _quipped Cyclops from where he was in the booth, speaking into the microphone.

"_By the way, Dazzler, my boyfriend here, he knows every word to every one of your songs," _said Marvel Girl, smirking and causing her boyfriend to go red around the ears.

"_Thanks a lot, Jean,"_ he said, narrowing his eyes at her.

"It's fine. Always pleased to meet a fan," Alison said with a smile on her face as Spider-Man swung down, looking to make his escape around the corner. However, Iceman quickly followed him.

"Dude, do I know you?" he asked the web-slinger.

"No-No," Spider-Man replied back.

"Funny, you sound a lot like my best friend, Peter Parker, yeh high . . . a total geek, makes wisecracks," Iceman quipped with a raised brow and a smirk on his face.

Spider-Man let out a sigh, looking around and taking stock to make sure that nobody was around before taking his mask off. "Okay, Bobby, you caught me."

"Okay, dude, this was awesome! But next time you interfere with me and my turf, call ahead, man," Iceman said.

"Hey, as far as I know, we're already considered vigilantes in the eyes of the public. Neither one of us is viewed as too much of a hero," Spider-Man said with a grin. "Besides, I gotta tell ya sometime about how I fought Rhino over the summer."

"I saw the story in the _Daily Bugle _from our number one fan," quipped Iceman with a smile. "But this was fun man we've gotta do this again."

"Are you serious, dude?" asked Spider-Man in a serious tone as they walked away, putting his mask back up and over his face to disguise himself.

"Completely serious," Iceman said, punching his friend's shoulder as they walked off together. "Too bad we cannot drink to our victory."

"We'll have plenty of opportunities when we turn twenty-one." The two friends clasped hands and shared a hug, taking comfort in that Bobby now knew Peter's secret he'd been keeping for the past few months. The fact that his best friend now knew took a huge weight off Peter's shoulders. It meant that he and Bobby would be able to swap stories with one another about being official "superheroes".

"Touché." Iceman nodded before heading off to the Blackbird, smiling at the fact that Peter Parker, the resident geek of Marsden Regional High; his best friend, was Spider-Man.

* * *

**Up next: Ominous Octavius **


	12. Issue 52: Ominous Octavius

_The X-men of X-Corporation continue to try and be agents of peace in a world that hates and fears them. Living in a time where a presidential election is shortly coming, the X-men are hoping that they will be able to change the hearts and finds of those who hate them. However, this proves to be a difficult task with hate groups, a presidential nominee who is looking to start up a project titled The Wide Awake Project, and those out there who continue to make life harder. _

_Two of these individuals include Mojo Adams and Mysterio, who recently kidnapped up-in-coming pop star Dazzler to try and get their failed television show back on the air. Fortunately, they were stopped by not just the X-men, but also Bobby "Iceman" Drake's best friend Peter "Spider-Man" Parker._

* * *

**Issue 52: Ominous Octavius **

**Marsden Regional High School – Auditorium **

The weeks following Peter Parker revealing his secret identity of Spider-Man to Bobby "Iceman" Drake proved to life a weight off Peter's shoulders.

After having put a stop to Mysterio and Mojo Adams, Bobby found that he was keeping up with Peter's acts as Spider-Man all over New York, especially after Peter told him of how he had stopped the Rhino from terrorizing New York. Of course, Bobby saw the photographs on Instagram of Peter grasping Rhino's horn as Pete rode on his armor through New York City. It was something that Bobby had been more than interested in hearing, as well as hearing of other villains Peter had battled, such as Max Dillon – Electro, and a man named Scorpion.

Now, sitting in the auditorium, preparing to go on their class field trip to Octavius Enterprises to witness Otto Octavius present mechanical arms that were made with artificial intelligence, Bobby was ecstatic. Having missed the field trip to Curt Connors' lab, Bobby was determined not to miss this this field trip, considering how Peter had made such a big deal out of it.

"Peter, you've been talking up this trip for weeks. It better be a good one," Bobby said.

"Believe me, Bobby, it's gonna be a real good one. I should know. I've been following Otto Octavius' work and research since I was in first grade. His research has the potential to change the world, Bobby. Imagine how many people it could potentially help, especially injured war veterans who lost their limbs," Peter insisted as they got out of their seats in the auditorium to board the school bus which would be taking them to Queens.

For Peter, going to Queens for the field trip made him feel as though he was truly returning home, as he had been born in Queens. "I mean, imagine what we can do with artificial intelligence. This is something that I honestly feel is the next step towards the evolving of scientific development. Plus, this is a moment for me. Most out there say that their hero is Captain America. But Otto Octavius, he's been my hero since childhood. I always knew that I had wanted to be just like him," he continued to say.

"Speaking of artificial intelligence, Dr. Hank Pym is looking to work on building an AI that can help us privatize world peace," said Bobby. "He as much as Tony wants to turn world peace into a business; honestly, I've got my reservations. Have you seen that Judd Law movie, _AI: Artificial Intelligence_?"

"I have," said Peter as the bus started driving towards their destination. "To be quite fair, just because a robot might _have _a human-like mind, it doesn't mean that it _is _human."

"_Exactly!"_ Bobby said. "That was one thing that I took away from watching that film. You either get it or you don't get it. For me, I will always get it somehow."

Peter nodded. "But artificial intelligence could have many benefits to it, my friend."

"Peter, only you would be deeply fascinated by something like this," said Johnny from where he sat with Angelica and Mary-Jane.

"Johnny, tell me, as the younger brother to a genius-level scientist, how could you not find this interesting?" asked Peter to his childhood best friend with a raised eyebrow.

"Dude, science puts me to sleep. You want me to sleep well at night, read me a biology text book as a bedtime story. It's what Sue did for me all the time when I was five years old," Johnny quipped.

Peter and Bobby both laughed as Peter pulled his camera out. "Now, guys, as editor-in-chief of the yearbook, I need to get pictures to put in there. So therefor, make sure you smile pretty."

"I always smile pretty, Pete," Mary-Jane said with a grin on her face, flipping her red hair out of her eyes.

Peter grinned at M.J, giving her the thumbs-up. "Also, you know after this year, Principal Ditko is retiring, and I am the one in charge of editing the going-away video for him. So therefor, you guys need to plan out what you're going to say. I've got Bobby's already."

"Yeah, and _I _want to do mine over!" Bobby pled.

"We'll clean it all up in editing, dude," Peter said.

"Yeah, but I want to do mine over because it sucked. "A day over eighty!" What the hell was I thinking saying something that stupid?" Bobby groaned.

"Hey, Bobby, there's worse things that you can say," quipped Johnny.

"You really think so?" Bobby asked.

Johnny was silent at that. He knew Bobby's portion of the farewell video for Principal Ditko was nothing short of terrible and embarrassing. But, Peter wasn't allowing anyone to redo anything; Bobby wondered if his friend was just using that to hold it over his head for the rest of their high school years to come. The five of them proceeded to stay silent for the remainder of the trip, Bobby plugging his earbuds into his ears and listening to music as he tried to forget the downright embarrassing footage that was on Peter's camera.

* * *

**Pym Enterprises – Hank Pym's Workshop **

Over the course of the past few weeks, Dr. Hank "Giant Man" Pym found that he was stressing over the fact that it was taking Tony Stark and Hank McCoy so long to crunch numbers in the effort to make sure that his brainwaves were the correct thing needed for Ultron.

Pym wanted to get started on Ultron as soon as possible, so that he could prove to the world that world peace could be accomplished and succeeded through technology. Despite the doubts of his ex-fiancée, Hank McCoy, Tony Stark and Charles Xavier, Pym wanted nothing more than to prove them all wrong, considering just how deeply passionate he was towards wanting to make the world a safer place for mutants and humans everywhere.

'Nobody gets how Ultron could potentially benefit the world . . . what it can do to protect people in this country . . .' Pym thought as he sat there, tinkering away with the robotic prototype that would eventually become Ultron. 'My brain pattern in the only thing that can work with this AI . . . I've crunched the numbers over and over again. All the evidence points to the fact that my brain is the key to all of this; why can't the professor and Tony and Beast see that? Why can't Janet see that? Doesn't she trust me at all? I thought that Janet of all people would believe in me . . .'

As Pym sat there in solemn silence over the fact that nobody seemed to understand where he was coming from, the voice of Jarvis, the AI that ran Pym Enterprises, sounded throughout the room.

"_Mr. Pym, Hank McCoy and Tony Stark are here to speak with you," _Jarvis said.

"Thank you, Jarvis; send them in," he said in reply.

"_Very well, sir." _

Jarvis proceeded to open the doors to Pym's workshop space, allowing Tony and McCoy to enter the room. Tony, luckily, was walking around now that he finally regained some strength back. After weeks of being weak due to being on a detox, Tony was just glad that he was finally allowed to be out of the infirmary. However, it did not mean that he wasn't being watched by the professor, Moira, or even Doctor Reyes. All three made it clear that he wasn't allowed to have any more alcohol.

The first three weeks of being on the detox program Moira had designed for him had been hell. It had been weeks of intense nausea, severe headaches, anxiety attacks, and hallucinations. During that period, Tony had hardly been able to keep anything down, to the point of needing to be on an IV to prevent dehydration. Now, he was finally able to at least hold down liquids like Jell-O and soup without throwing up, and he was able to walk around without fainting or collapsing. However, holding down solids was still posing an issue for Tony.

For now, Tony was just thankful that he was able to walk, and no longer be dependent on a wheelchair to get around the office. Now, he was finally able to meet with his oldest friend regarding the project known as "Ultron."

"Alright, Henry. We've crunched numbers after numbers for these past few weeks now. And, everything adds up," said Beast.

"Why am I not surprised? Oh, I know why . . . because fact is, I am one of the top scientists in the country," Pym said with a smile on his face.

"Well, we had to be sure that your brainwaves were the key, my friend," said Tony. "Besides, I've heard plenty of horror stories of how AI's can be corrupted."

"This isn't the movie _AI: Artificial Intelligence, _Tony," Pym said with a shake of his head.

"But, isn't that essentially what this is?" asked McCoy. "Just because something may have a human-like mind, it does not mean that it _is _human. That's why I personally have my own set of concerns about this."

"McCoy, do not overthink any of it. And besides, my birthday is coming up around the corner and I expect you and the X-men to be at my party this month. You're coming, right?" asked Pym.

"Yes, of course. I wouldn't miss it. But, if I have a sip of booze that night, Moira would kill me. She's going to be there to make sure that I behave that night and stick to my sobriety program she's got me on," said Tony.

"You can't even have vodka? It's low calorie," Pym said.

"No!" Tony said. "Henry, I cannot be around you. You are a bad influence! But there is one thing about you that is good. And that is that everything I can already do; you can do better."

"Like I do not know that. I remember, when we were in elementary school, fifth grade to be exact, and we had that science fair project where we chose to build a computer, because we were both that ambitious. I took it one step further, and I had ended up building the hard drive that went inside it, from scratch. That's why I am the one qualified to build Ultron," pointed out Pym. "No matter how much you crunch the numbers, the proof is right there in front of your eyes."

"But you know why we had our second-thoughts on it," Beast insisted. "And it's quite ironic, because Iceman – Bobby Drake, he's on a school field trip with his class right now viewing Otto Ocatvius' presentation of robotic limbs that use artificial intelligence. While I am quite envious, I also know it can go bad."

"You cannot predict everything, McCoy," said Pym in an insistent tone of voice.

"Oh, believe me, I know, but, there's always that possibility," Beast said. "Well, I better get back to Stark Pharmaceuticals, and after that, I have to get to the eye clinic. I am this close to a breakthrough on that cure for blindness."

"McCoy, between you and me, we both know why you are so determined to cure blindness," said Tony as they walked out of the room, leaving.

"Tony . . . Carly is just a small part of the equation," Hank said.

"Sure, she is; when she came by the eye clinic, I don't think I've seen you happier," Tony pointed out.

* * *

**Outside Octavious Enterprises **

For the remainder of the bus ride, Bobby found that he was sound asleep, having grown bored on the bus ride. Since the school bus had been stuck in traffic on the Queens Borough Bridge, he'd passed time by resting in his seat beside Peter.

His head was lolled on Peter's shoulder, his cheek squished to one side like a basset hound when it was about wake from a nap. He had earbuds in his ears, listening to music from his playlist, which consisted of songs from the CD Scott had given him for his birthday. Currently, Daughtry's "Baptized" was playing in his ear. A dribble of drool was sliding down past his mouth. However, little Bobby realized was that he was freezing in his sleep.

"Bobby!" Mary-Jane called out to him. "Bobby!"

Bobby startled awake at the sound of M.J's voice. "Yes, M.J?" He took the earbuds out of his ears.

"You're freezing in your sleep again!" M.J noted as she took stock of the ice that had surrounded Bobby's bus seat.

"Oh, I didn't notice." Bobby smiled sheepishly.

"And besides, we're here, so wake up, be alive!" Johnny said, snapping his fingers as he undid his seatbelt.

Bobby took his seatbelt off, and he and Peter proceeded to get off the bus and they followed their classmates, as well as their science teacher, Ms. Lee, inside the building. Looking around them, they saw the displays of all the robotic limbs everywhere.

"Holy shit, this is actually super cool," Bobby mused as he pulled his phone out. "I want to Snapchat this. If Hank were here right now, he'd die and go to heaven."

"Good, it's about time you Snapchat something like this," said Peter, pulling his own phone out to take a photograph. He then pulled out his camera for the yearbook to take a picture. "M.J, Ange, I'd like to get your guys' picture over by this. After all, I need photos with students in them for the school yearbook and paper."

Angelica and Mary-Jane nodded smiles on their faces as they posed next to a pair of robotic arms.

"Oh yeah, that's a picture right there," Johnny said with a smile as he pulled his phone out to take a picture of his girlfriend. "Ange, you look so gorgeous right now, I can't take it."

Angelica grinned wider as Johnny moved to stand next to her to replace Mary-Jane. He handed Peter his cell phone. "Pete, make sure this one's really good, because this is gonna be my home screen." He leaned a kiss against Angelica's cheek as Peter took the photo. "Thank you."

"You know I've got you," Peter said with a grin as they followed the rest of their classmates as well as their science teacher and tour guide.

"Alright, Octavius Enterprises was founded in the year of 2004. The company specializing in robotics, Otto Octavius formed this company with intention of building robotic limbs that use artificial intelligence, which can potentially be used for those who have to have their limbs amputated. Ultimately, with the artificial intelligence finally developed after years of such hard work, Dr. Octavius is very proud to present this to your class as part of your field trip," the tour guide was saying.

Peter, in his excitement, wasn't listening to what the tour guide was saying. He was too busy taking photographs of the space, which had photographs of Otto Octavius in grad school, and photos of the prosthetic limbs. There were also glass cases with some of the prosethetics inside, furthering his enticement. Though he was pulled from his enthusiasm when he overheard Duncan Matthews.

"Yeah, whatever," Duncan Matthews said a little too loudly.

"Hey, Duncan, how's about showing some respect?" asked Peter heatedly, glaring at him.

Duncan turned around to face Peter. "Shut the fuck up, Parker!" he spat out.

"Parker, Matthews, the both of you, enough," Ms. Lee said sternly. "Are we clear?"

"Yes. Sorry, Ms. Lee," Peter said.

"Yes," Duncan said; the attitude evident in his voice as he glared at Peter. It was a silent sign of saying that it wasn't over.

The class continued to walk along, listening as their tour guide spoke. Peter continued to snap photo after photo for the yearbook, his eyes wide in fascination for what he was seeing. Even Johnny seemed genuinely interested in the sight before his eyes.

"Wow, Johnny, if Sue knew you had an interest in science right now, she'd be so proud," Peter joked.

Johnny rolled his eyes as they climbed the stairs up towards the laboratory where the presentation of the artificial intelligence was going to be taking place. As they got closer to the lab, Peter seemed to grow all the more ecstatic. He'd already been antsy since that morning. Now, he looked like a little kid on a sugar rush.

"I'm so excited!" Peter practically sounded like a twelve-year-old on Christmas morning.

"Pete, if you're this excited over this, how are you going to be on your wedding day?" asked Angelica jokingly as they entered the lab, to see Dr. Otto Octavius there, his wife Rosalie at his side.

"Hello, everyone," Dr. Otto Octavius said. "I am honored that Marsden Regional High School is here for the sophomore class field trip. This experiment, as you know, is something that is about fifteen years in the making. Now, this is just a test run before we distribute this to the public for those with disabilities. This could forever make a difference, and bring advancements in medicine. Now, Rosalie, shall we start, my dear?"

Rosalie Octavius, Otto's wife and lab assistant nodded, and proceeded to turn on the machine which would be operating the AI. Before they knew it, the machine operating the artificial intelligence was turned off, and the robotic arms attached to Otto started to move on their own accord. The kids let out a round of applause. Peter proceeded to take more pictures for the yearbook out of pure enticement.

"Wow, this is incredible," whispered Mary-Jane in pure fascination, her green eyes widening as she smiled at Peter, knowing how excited he was about this.

"It is," Johnny said in agreement, wrapping an arm around Angelica's shoulders and pulling her close to his side.

For the most part, the prosthetic arms were moving smoothly, earning Otto Octavius a round of applause from the students. Otto proceeded to use the robotic limbs to juggle a tennis ball. Then he began to juggle two, then three, then four, then five, then six, then seven, then eight . . . it went to fifteen tennis balls before Otto successfully got them into a box on a nearby desk. That earned him another round of applause, but Peter was beaming and smiling harder than his classmates were. Surprisingly enough, even Taryn Fujiko, Duncan Matthews and Flash Thompson seemed impressed. The fact that three of Marsden Regional's biggest bullies were impressed was a shock.

'Wow, Taryn, Duncan and Flash seem engaged. Is this a start of the apocalypse?' thought Peter as he shared a smile with Mary-Jane, who returned his grin. Mary-Jane pulled out her own camera, determined to get pictures for the school paper as well.

Suddenly, just as the AI was about to be turned off, that was when they all saw that something seemed to be going wrong. The robotic arms were beginning to malfunction, moving erratically.

"What's going on?" whispered Angelica.

"Something's wrong," Peter said softly. "I think it's the AI itself. It has to be! Dr. Octavius, shut it down!" he yelled warningly.

Rosalie quickly went around in attempt to turn off the machine, but sparks of electricity were flaring off. "I can't!" she said anxiously. That was the moment a small electrical fire seemed to burst off the machine controlling the AI.

"Bobby, do something!" cried out Mary-Jane anxiously.

Bobby nodded, allowing a small burst of controlled ice to fire at the flames that were starting to warp to put the fire out. However, that only solved part of the issue. The sparks of electricity were still an issue that was very much concerning. The electrical sparks continued to grow worse and worse, until finally, the machine seemed to not be able to take much more, and a burst of energy flowed through the room, knocking everyone back.

Bobby put his organic ice form around his whole body in effort to protect himself. The robotic arms attached to Octavius proceed to grow out of control, attacking at random and moving to attack several students, including Flash Thompson and Duncan Matthews. However, Angelica quickly ran in and shoved them out of the way to prevent that from happening.

Unfortunately, one of the robotic arms proceeded to attack Rosalie Octavius, who was prone to it. The arm reached forward and grabbed onto her neck, strangling her. Peter sneakily used his web shooter to try and force the robotic arm off Rosalie's neck; it was no use, because before they all knew it, Rosalie was on the ground, not breathing or moving.

"Holy shit," whispered Johnny as finally, the AI-controlled arms proceeded to stop moving. Otto quickly moved towards his wife, who was lying there dead on the floor. The man looked gut-wrenched and devastated.

"Oh my God," Bobby said quietly, feeling the nervousness pooling in his stomach, thinking to himself that this was not going to mean anything good at all. He quickly went over to Peter. "Pete," he whispered.

"I know, I know what I'm looking at, buddy," Peter said anxiously as he watched Otto break down over the loss of his wife. Shaking his head, Peter couldn't help but wonder what ramifications would come from something like this.

'Dammit, another class trip ruined for me. First, it was falling ill after getting bit by a radioactive spider. Now my childhood hero killing his wife with unstable prosthetic arms,' he thought as she continued to shake his head. The teachers ushered everyone out of the building so that they could go back to the buses. Peter, M.J, Angelica, Johnny and Bobby just stuck close together.

"Why do I have a feeling that this is just going to lead to something much worse?" Angelica asked.

"Great minds think alike, girl," whispered Peter.

* * *

**Up next: For Humanity**

**A/N: The reference to Bobby's music playlist is a reference to his reflections from volume 2. It's subtle things like that that makes reading the reflections that much more necessary.**


	13. Issue 53: For Humanity

_In a world that hates and fears them, the X-men try their best to be agents of peace, and not chaos. Nonetheless, with an upcoming presidential election in November, this is proving to be a difficult task. This is especially since Senator Kelly and his advisor, William Stryker, are about to launch an initiative titled The Wide Awake Project._

_Part of The Wide Awake Project is using the Sentinel robots to arrest any mutants who act out of line with the help of a Mutant Response Division. However, with the Friends of Humanity's presence is becoming known to the world as they become determined to spread a hatred of mutants. Additionally, Hank Pym is determined to build an AI named Ultron to ensure world peace. However, there is lingering doubt on whether or not Ultron will be able to work. This is especially after a class field trip Bobby Drake, Peter Parker, and their friends went on viewing Otto Octavius' artificial-intelligent robotic arms. The presentation of these robotic arms proved to bring more danger, as they killed Rose Octavius, Otto's wife. _

_Now, The Wide Awake Project is fully enacted, and this leaves the X-men on edge as they try to enjoy a nice night off. But for Professor Charles Xavier, he is to begin meetings with presidential candidate, Lilandra Neramani._

* * *

**Issue 53: For Humanity **

**Professor Xavier's Office in X-Corporation Tower – One Week Ago **

"_Professor Xavier, have you and your X-men managed to uncover just yet who these FOH people are and why it is that they are continuing to harass mutants, and those who support them?" _asked Libertarian Party presidential nominee, Lilandra Neramani.

"Alas, Lilandra, I have tried looking into this as deeply as I could, but it is not like you can find the name FOH on Google. These people who are staging these assaults are smart in the fact that they are making sure that nobody knows who they are or where they are positioned. They clearly do not want anyone to know what it is that they are in preparation of doing," Charles said.

"_Mr. Xavier, we cannot afford to have another riot like this break out at another rally. Because my campaign for the presidency, I've put everything that I've got into," _said Lilandra in a tired tone. _"But, I also know that you are your X-men have got a lot on your plate as it is." _

"Indeed Lilandra, but, I also understand that you did not just call to ask me about the status on the FOH," said Professor Xavier.

"_Yes, well, Charles, you know how, if I end up winning the presidency, that I am to select a presidential advisor. In all honesty, the work the work that you have done with the X-men, Tony Stark and X-Corporation points to me that I should choose you for the position," _said Lilandra with a smile.

Charles was quite taken aback. "But I am not a politician, Miss Neramani," he said.

"_But, what you have is experience as far as mutant affairs are concerned; you being a mutant yourself as well as a business owner makes you all the more qualified in my eyes to advise me if I do become president of the United States of America. Charles, between the charisma that you have, being the owner of a company that is looking to provide mutants job opportunities and careers, I think that you are exactly what I am looking for," _Lilandra said in an assisting tone.

Charles smiled slightly. This was probably the third conversation that he had had with Lilandra Neramani. Not only was she a smart, quick-witted business woman, but she was also very insightful and knowledgeable about the United States Constitution and other areas as far as politics were concerned. "Well, Lilandra, this is quite the honor. But, if you do not win, what would you continue on doing?"

"_Well, I will be working on making sure that both my companies stay afloat. But I am also in particular interested in possibly merging Chandilar Industries with X-Corporation. Imagine the possibilities of what there are that Chandilar Industries, Aerie Law Firms and X-Corporation can accomplish," _Lilandra said with a smile.

"Indeed. I recognize that you and your choice for vice president, Evangeline Whedon, are quite the human rights advocates," said Professor Xavier. "But we should find some more time to discuss this, especially since the MRD is going to be initiated fairly soon, along with a very strong likelihood of a mutant registration act where mutants would be forced to register under the government."

"_It's treating people as though they are loaded guns . . . but, guns do not hurt people. People hurt people," _said Lilandra in a soft voice. _"The person that chooses to point a gun at someone to hurt people is a criminal. Mutants who choose to use their powers to cause harm to others are the criminals. As far as I can see, you and your X-men are trying to make the world a better place, something that I greatly extol you for. But I do agree that we should plan a meeting and discuss all of this rather soon. How about a week from today at the Charthouse in Weehawken?" _

"Sounds consummate, Miss Neramani," Charles said with a smile as he hung up the conversation.

* * *

**The Charthouse Restaurant – Present Day **

Professor Charles Xavier was approaching this meeting with Libertarian party member, Lilandra Neramani, with a mixture of exhilaration and apprehension. After having agreed to meet with her to discuss him potentially being her advisor, as well as potentially having X-Corporation do business with Chandilar Enterprises, Xavier had been anticipating it the whole week.

Lilandra's eloquence and intellect were the things about her that intrigued the professor the most about her. She was a person that came along as a very welcomed surprise. It was not often that you found someone who was so adamant about mutants having equal rights as humans. However, Tony was convinced that Xavier being charmed by Lilandra was more than just professional.

"_Old man, every time I see you watching this Lilandra Neramani woman on the TV, your face lights up. I haven't seen you that happy in a very long time," _Tony had said to him the other day when Xavier had been getting his suit tailored for this meeting with Lilandra.

"_Agreed, Professor," _Scott had said to him. _"Believe me; I know what it looks like when someone likes a woman. My brother Alex is infatuated with this girl named Lorna Dane on Genosha." _

"_Scott, Tony, I can assure you that this is just professional," _he'd told them both.

However, as Xavier sat there in the restaurant awaiting Lilandra's arrival, he began to ponder Tony and Scott's words from the other day. Charles could hardly remember the last time that he had experienced this kind of joy with somebody. The last time he had been this happy, he'd been married to Moira. Unfortunately, the complications with Joseph MacTaggart going in and blackmailing Moira and Charles into getting a divorce made the happiness quickly dissipate. Now that he was at the second half of his life, Charles was beginning to consider how he wanted to spend it and who he wanted to spend it with. He was married to his work; that was a given, and being a father to his son David, and his adoptive daughter and son, Scott and Jean, was his life. But he also needed something else to fill that empty space.

Adjusting his tie nervously, Xavier took notice of Lilandra sauntering into the room, her long, dark hair slicked back as far as it could go into a ponytail, her eyes bright. She looked beyond elegant.

"Hello, Charles," said Lilandra with a smile as she shook his hand, leaning over to kiss his cheek as her choice of greeting.

"Hello, Ms. Neramani," Xavier greeted her with a smile on his face.

"Please, call me Lilandra," Lilandra said, taking her seat across from him. "Now, we've got much to discuss."

"Indeed, Lilandra. Now, what do you wish to discuss?"

"Well, I would like to begin with us in the future potentially working together, as far as the business aspect of everything goes. We both own companies that are working on keeping mutants employed and securing their futures. If you know anything about my company, Chandilar Enterprises, as well as Aerie Law Firms, equal pay for mutants is probably the most important thing to me. That's how my mom and dad did it, and I am determined to continue it that way. That's in fact going to be one of my first acts as president of the United States if I do end up winning: making sure that mutants get equal pay. I understand that it is hard for mutants to even be able to find jobs to begin with; I've seen it with the employees that I have," said Lilandra.

"Absolutely, Lilandra; mutants are not allowed to serve in the military," Charles said. "And I look at my adoptive son, Scott Summers; all he wants to do is go into the army."

"That's one of the things that I hope to change in my act as president," Lilandra said. "I think if you want to serve in the military, and you've earned that privilege by working hard and going to school for it, then you should be able to."

"Lilandra . . . I have been meaning to ask you. Why are you so deeply passionate about advocating for the rights of mutants? Why use that as your presidential campaign if you know that that would cause you such a great deal of backlash from those who do not understand?" Professor Xavier asked her, genuinely intrigued by the fact that this woman was so adamant about focusing her entire presidential campaign on mutant rights and equality for all.

"I'll let you in on something, Charles," said Lilandra with a soft smile on her lips. 'Tell me . . . is this something familiar to you?' For a moment, Charles Xavier could almost swear that he could hear Lilandra's voice in his mind.

Charles' eyes widened in enthrallment and interest as he looked at Lilandra; he said, "You're a mutant?"

"Indeed, Charles . . . telepathy, something you should be rather experienced with." Lilandra smiled wider as she looked at Xavier.

* * *

**The MRD Headquarters in Washington, D.C **

Senator Edward Kelly couldn't help but have his apprehensions about the launching of the MRD and the Sentinels. As part of his and William Stryker's initiative, The Wide Awake Project, part of it was the launching and usage of Sentinels as well as the Mutant Response Division. The purpose of the MRD was to have a form of law enforcement that was equipped to handle mutants and hold them accountable. With the help of heavy financial backing from William Stryker, Jeffery Moss and Thaddeus Ross, they were able to get the funds needed to start the Wide Awake Project. It was something Senator Kelly was in particular highly proud of, but he also couldn't help but wonder whether or not this would end up working the way that he expected it to.

'Let's hope and pray that this works,' the senator thought to himself. 'If this doesn't work, then that's another failure I'll have to do damage control over, and I might as well be taken as seriously as the Kardashians!'

Overlooking the operation of the MRD vehicles being loaded up with special power-dampening collars that had been created especially by Dr. Kevita Rao and Bolivar Trask, Senator Kelly proceeded to walk over to William Stryker, who was getting ready to get inside his own vehicle.

"So, where are you going first as part of the launch of this initiative, Stryker?" he asked.

"New York," William Stryker said in a calm voice. "Do not worry, my dear senator. I promise you, after the launching of this initiative, the mutie freaks won't even want to come out of their caves."

"Good to know," said Senator Kelly. "However, William, I do have to say this; we must not resort to anything extreme, because you are seeing what is happening right now with this group rising called the FOH. They've already caused several riots, and those riots were well-organized and designed to be out of control. We have to distance ourselves from hate groups like that, and make it clear that Sentinel Services and the MRD are not by any means a hate group, because it is operating under the law."

"I can assure you, Senator, that you won't have to worry there," Stryker said.

"I better have your word, William. Because look at what had happened last time when I'd trusted someone. Cameron Hodge and Obadiah Stane went behind my back to illegally test the mutant cure, and they'd ended up killing an innocent young woman," said Senator Kelly in a concerned tone.

"I do not know; Senator . . . maybe Hodge and Stane had possibly the right idea. I mean, if anything, that young woman Candy Southern was just simply in the way. Apparently, she was the girlfriend of that Warren Worthington III kid," said Stryker.

Senator Kelly instantly felt an uneasiness filling him upon hearing how callous Stryker sounded at that moment. The fact that he seemed to be blaming Candice Southern for her own death was something that sounded a bit extreme to him, but, Senator Kelly also knew he had to brush that aside. He couldn't afford to have any doubts at this moment in time. Not when the presidential election was right around the corner, and would be there faster than expected.

"Alright, William; I wish you luck tonight," said Senator Kelly.

"Alright, then, gentlemen! Let's move out!" Stryker called to the MRD officials, shutting the door to his military-grade vehicle before driving off to launch The Wide Awake Project.

* * *

**Hooters Restaurant – Midtown, Manhattan **

Meanwhile, for the X-men, the team found that they were enjoying a rather rare night off, taking leisure and enjoying the fact that they could be free for the rest of the night. After a grueling Danger Room session with Logan leading them in an intense workout before dinner, the X-men decided that what they needed was a carefree night that they could enjoy while it lasted, due to the MRD and The Wide Awake Project being initiated that evening. This was why they found themselves at the Manhattan Mall – the only ones not joining them being Logan, Warren and Hank, who had gone off to a bar for the night.

Jean was at a Hooters restaurant not too far from the mall, enjoying some alone time with Scott while Kitty, Kurt, Ororo, Anna-Marie and Bobby were off shopping. Nursing her glass of Coke-a-Cola, Jean held Scott's hand tightly underneath the table.

"Jean, I get why you're worried, tonight of all nights," Scott said as they shared a platter of buffalo shrimp as well as an onion ring tower.

"Scott, it's not just the fact that tonight, the MRD and the Sentinels are launching. It's also the fact that Hank Pym is even going to attempt building artificial intelligence to ensure world-peace. Look at what had happened at Bobby's field trip with Otto Octavius. Who is to say that that cannot happen?" Jean asked, eating a piece of shrimp.

"Jean, try to lighten up a little bit," said Scott, reaching over to wrap his arm around her waist.

Jean giggled. "Okay, the boy scout of the X-men, our uptight Fearless Leader, telling _me _to lighten up . . . that's a first," she said.

Scott grinned at her, kissing her forehead lovingly. "Hey, just because I've got a stick up my ass, that doesn't mean I do not know how to actually have a sense of humor, babe."

Jean grinned a little at that. "Well, I'm wondering how the professor is enjoying his night."

"Something tells me that he is _thoroughly _enjoying it," Scott teased. "And people talk crap about us and the status of our relationship. Meanwhile, I am pretty sure I haven't seen the professor this happy in . . . I don't think ever."

"What about Mr. Stark and Pepper? It's like a Mexican standoff with those two and what they seem to have," Jean pointed out, eating an onion ring. She was suddenly forgetting about the fact that Sentinels were going to be released to start tracking down mutants.

"Very true. But I am surprised you didn't opt to go shopping with Kitty, Ororo and Rogue tonight," Scott said.

"Why does that surprise you?" Jean asked with a raised eyebrow. "You know I value my alone time with you. If we have an opportunity to be alone anywhere, even if it's a sports bar chain restaurant across the street from the mall, I'll be more than happy to take advantage of that."

"I know. It's one of the things that I love about you." Scott leaned in and kissed Jean softly on the lips before they turned their attention back to their meal.

* * *

**Manhattan Mall – Food Court **

"Creed, how much longer do we have to sit here and wait around? This is worse than the New Salem Mall in Chicago!" spat Alyssa Risman as she sat in the food courts of the Manhattan Mall, wearing a thick trench.

"Patience, Alyssa," Creed assured her. "Besides, I think that it is safe to say our moment will come. With the launching of the MRD and the Sentinels tonight, if Senator Kelly honestly thinks that something like that will work to keep the mutie scum in line; then he's a special kind of idiot. He truly believes that the law can keep muties in line. You know? It's amazing to me that he thinks he can put all of his faith into giant robots; technology can easily turn its ugly head."

"I still do not see how organizing these random, violent outbursts are accomplishing anything," Alyssa said in a cynical tone.

"We are making our message heard loud and clear, Risman; believe me when I say that one day, we will get our full message across. I've already got Bastion and several other Friends of Humanity followers positioned all over the city of Manhattan. Several are outside a couple mutie bars, some are here in the mall; we're at the stage of just spreading it out more, at this point," explained Creed; however, that was the moment they noticed Bobby Drake, Kurt Wagner and Kitty Pryde from the X-men walking into the food courts, talking and laughing together. Kurt was wearing an image-inducing watch to help him come off as human, but, that did not mean he _was _human by any means necessary.

"Ah, I see there are some muties here already," whispered Creed bitterly, particularly towards Kitty Pryde who was only thirteen years old, a little girl, but, that did not make her any less dangerous in the eyes of the Friends of Humanity.

Armed with a power-dampening collar he had managed to have Alyssa Risman get her hands on, thanks to her money and influence from Risman Financial, Creed was thoroughly prepared for what he was about to do. Pulling out his hand gun, Creed fired several shots in the air, causing everyone in the mall to scream in a panic.

* * *

**Shooter's Bar – Twenty-Five Minutes Later**

Logan "Wolverine" Howlett slammed his empty beer glass down on the bar, watching as Hank "Beast" McCoy and Warren "Angel" Worthington III played a game of pool. Typically, a biker bar such as this was the last place Warren and Hank would be seen hanging out at. But Warren had been looking forward to enjoying some decent beer. That was especially since Logan was looking for drinking buddies.

Warren sipped at his Blue Moon in victory at being able to clean off the entire pool table. "Read it and weep, Beast," he said with a smile. "I win again."

"Wings, ya gotta be cheating, kid," Logan said, getting up from his seat as he dared to compete with Warren in a game of pool.

"No, I am not. In fact, I remember when I was fifteen. I was in my freshman year of high school, before my mutation developed, and Cameron Hodge bet that I couldn't clean an entire pool table drunk. I did, he'd lost," said Warren. "So do not even try to compete with me, Logan."

Logan smirked, grabbing the pool stick from Hank, who went to order his own drink. "Let's play pool, Bird Boy."

"As you insist," Warren said with a grin, flagging down a waitress to bring them more chicken wings and another glass of Blue Moon. "Can we get more food and another beer here, please?"

As Warren and Logan proceeded to start playing a game of pool, Logan lighting up a cigar. Unbeknownst to the three of them, several members of the Friends of Humanity were outside the bar. They were preparing to attack. That was the moment a grenade launched, causing a large, gaping hole to form in the wall of the bar.

"NO MORE MUTANTS! NO MORE MUTANTS! NO MORE MUTANTS!" the FOH screamed loudly.

"I propose that we select this trice to make our departure," said Hank as they made their escape from the bar.

"Shit!" spat out Logan. "This is probably the third time we've had a run-in with these goons!"

That was when the three of them took notice of the MRD and the Sentinels going around town, patrolling the area.

"And if we try and fight these guys to defend ourselves, then we might as well be asking to be arrested by the MRD and the Sentinels," declared Warren.

"Great, this is just great," Logan snarled, popping a single claw out – the middle one, his favorite. That was the moment he could hear his cell phone ringing; a phone call from Scott. "Scottie," he said.

"_Logan, those FOH people are attacking at random all over the city, tonight of all nights. Obviously, if mutants defend themselves from these guys, they'll just be asking to be arrested by the MRD. And additionally, to that, according to Kurt, they managed to take Kitty and get hold of her," _said Scott.

"Alright, I'm going after her. Where was she last?" Logan asked, walking away from Warren and Hank to go and track Kitty down.

"_Last Kurt and Bobby saw her was the food courts in the Manhattan Mall," _said Scott. _"But, be sure not to do anything reckless. With the MRD and the Sentinels being launched tonight, we do not need to cause any trouble for ourselves." _

"Don't worry, Cyke; I'm the best at what I do," Logan said, switching off his image inducer to reveal his Wolverine uniform as he prepared to go and search for Kitty.

* * *

**Lobdell Veterans Housing **

"NO MORE MUTANTS! NO MORE MUTANTS! NO MORE MUTANTS! NO MORE MUTANTS! NO MORE MUTANTS!" chanted the angry crowd of the Friends of Humanity as Graydon Creed and Alyssa Risman took the stage with Kitty Pryde – Shadowcat, the youngest member of the X-men.

"What we have accomplished tonight . . . is a warning!" Graydon Creed boomed into the microphone. "To all mutants, of what the future holds for them. Tomorrow belongs to humanity! Let humanity cleanse of this foul mutant disease! And as you can see, we've got a guest here tonight! This is one of them muties from the X-men!"

"How's about you go and fuck yourself?" spat an angry Kitty Pryde, glaring daggers at Graydon Creed. Her blood was boiling as she stood there with a power-dampening collar around her neck and handcuffs around her wrists. "Again! I will ask you the same damn question I'd asked you at that campaign rally! Why do you hate us? What did we ever do to you? I don't even know who the hell you are!"

"You were born," Creed said to Kitty coldly.

"Well _that's _a pretty Goddamn lame excuse to hate a bunch of people!" Kitty said angrily. "Uncuff me and take this collar off! I'm not gonna do shit to you. You wanna try and embarrass me in front of all your followers? Well, if you wanna go, we're gonna go, and we'll see who is going to be embarrassed!"

She clenched her jaw hard. 'If only I can phase my way outta these cuffs!' she thought to herself. That was the moment she heard a loud, "HERRRRRRA!" and she turned to see Logan, in his Wolverine uniform, coming into the room from the skyline window, claws out. Logan shoved two of the FOH guards away from her, pushing them into the crowd below the stage.

"You sure pick lousy places to hang, sweetheart," he said to Kitty in his usual grumpy voice, using his claws to cut her loose and take the collar off of her.

"Hey, okay? I was just at the mall minding my own business when I'd heard gunshots, and one of their goons grabbed me and collared me! It's not my fault," Kitty retorted in her usual sassy manner.

Logan picked her up around the waist and threw her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. "If you knew just how long I had to sniff ya out to find ya!" he scolded her like a father would scold his daughter for disobeying him.

They both ran out of the building, Kitty focusing her powers to phase them out of there. As they both took off to make their exit, they noticed even more MRD officials and Sentinels flooding the streets of New York, collaring and capturing mutants who were simply trying to defend themselves from the FOH. The whole sight of it just sickened Kitty Pryde deeply.

'My family didn't survive through all they survived through, to see all the progress being made for tolerance of all people, to be made a mockery!' Kitty thought bitterly as she and Logan walked off to head back to X-Corporation Tower for the rest of the night.

* * *

**The MRD Headquarters in Washington, D.C **

"I see that you have already made some progress on the first night, William," commented Senator Edward Kelly as he observed the number of mutants had gotten collared to be kept in line.

"Indeed, Senator. But it really was no trouble. These were at least a couple dozen that were causing quite the scene tonight," said William Stryker with pride in his voice.

"William . . . from my understanding, there was also a group of people going by the name of the FOH who were attacking and provoking," said Senator Kelly apprehensively.

"Senator, are you backing down from this?" asked Stryker in a serious tone of voice.

"No . . . no, no, no, no," Senator Kelly insisted with a shake of his head. "But we agreed that it would be strictly mutants who are _criminals._"

"Using your powers, regardless of the situation, in a public setting, should be considered a felony, Senator," William Stryker said, even as the sighting of a ten-year-old mutant boy with orange skin and overly large hands passed by. The sight made the senator slightly uncomfortable, because his own son, James, was the same age. But he also knew that he couldn't afford to have doubts at that moment. He knew that he couldn't afford to compromise his values for anything, even if the idea of small, mutant children being dragged away for simply trying to protect themselves from danger made him feel discomforted.

'Why does this feel so wrong?' he thought to himself as another sighting of a twelve-year-old girl with purple hair and pink skin and elf-like ears being shoved along passed him by. 'I may not like mutants . . . but children? Why does this feel as though it's being taken too far? Children aren't criminals . . .'

As Senator Kelly continued to stand there watching the scene before him, he couldn't help but have doubts just a little bit. But then he found himself brushing those thoughts aside. He couldn't afford to think like that.

"It's a dawn of a new age for humanity, Senator," William Stryker said, leaning a hand onto the senator's shoulder. "I promise you, that this initiative will continue to work the way that it should."

* * *

**Up next: Beauty and the Beast Part 1**


	14. Issue 54: Beauty and the Beast Part 1

_Using their powers to save mankind, the X-men continue to fight for peace in a world that hates and fears them. The ever-growing discrimination and hatred for mutants is on the rise, especially as it gets closer to the presidential election. _

_With an upcoming election, mutants around the United States of America are facing the ever-growing toxicity in the environment. This is especially with the uprising of an anti-mutant hate group known as the Friends of Humanity, who are determined to use humans' fears of mutants by attacking mutants in the streets. _

_These attacks have been leading to mutants being arrested by the Mutant Response Division underneath the Wide Awake Project, an initiative enacted by Senator Edward Kelly. However, even Senator Kelly is slowly beginning to have his doubts that this is the right approach when it comes to dealing with the mutant issue._

* * *

**Issue 54: Beauty and the Beast Part 1**

**Stark Pharmaceuticals – Research Labs **

The following week after The Wide Awake Project, the Sentinels and the MRD were launched put the X-men on edge. For the most part, they were all hesitant to use their powers out in public. Bobby's classmates at school were in particular very cruel, particularly bullies like Flash Thompson and Duncan Matthews. Those classmates were now frequently making threats that they would call the MRD on Bobby or Angelica if they used their powers in school.

Additionally to this, the FOH – whom Kitty revealed to the X-men to be known as the "Friends of Humanity" – were starting to become more violent with their outbursts in public. They were not just resorting to attacking mutant-friendly restaurants and pubs. They were now attacking mutant-friendly clinics and hospitals. Any mutants who even attempted to defend themselves had the MRD called on them, which led to even more mutants throughout New York being arrested. It was being taken too far.

However, there were some like Warren and Hank, who were determined to not allow such bigotry to interfere with their work at Stark Pharmaceuticals. Their latest venture with the company was now including mutant-friendly pain medications that needed to get distributed to the hospitals and clinics in the area. However, Hank and his research assistant, Bruce Banner – who was better known to the world as the Incredible Hulk – were hitting a brick wall.

"Bruce, I must declare that while I do find scientific research to be a much better form of catharsis than ripping the walls apart, I am finding that at this point, I might just result to tearing something into shreds," said Hank with a shake of his head.

"Well, Hank, I would appreciate it if you didn't. We don't want _the Other Guy _to make any surprise appearances," Banner said as he looked over the data. "Besides, I think that that won't be too healthy for either one of us."

"Indeed, Bruce," Hank said with a toothy smile. "Besides, in an hour, I've got to go down to the eye clinic . . . I am one step closer to finding the cure for blindness on our very first patient."

"You've been working on that for almost two years now, my friend," Banner said, taking his glasses off and polishing them. "If you want a head start over there, I can finish up here."

"Thank you, Dr. Banner." Hank proceeded to walk out of the labs of Stark Pharmaceuticals, wearing a thick trench coat and a hat as he headed towards the Claremont Clinic for the Blind. In addition to doing research for Tony, Hank also found that doing research to help the local eye clinic part time gave him a strong sense of purpose in life. Being twenty-four years old, Hank was quite the intellectual for someone of his age, one of the many reasons why Tony had hired him in the first place. The big, blue, ape of a beast walked into the eye clinic, signing in and pulling on his white lab coat before walking into the medical room, where his research assistant and closest and only friend in the clinic, Alec Bolson, was waiting on him.

"Ah, Alec, I see you are hard at work as usual, my friend," Beast said with a smile.

Alec smiled in return. Being the head doctor of the hospital, he'd taken Hank under his wing when the beast approached him about wanting to expand his horizons in terms of working with medicine. Alec had yet to find a better doctor than Hank McCoy.

"Absolutely, Hank . . . it appears that the treatment is about ready at this point," he said with a smile towards Hank. "Your hard work is paying off, my friend."

"Eureka, Alec," Hank said with a toothy grin, taking his seat at the desk to see the data for himself. As Hank prepared to busy himself with his work, two other doctors from the clinic walked into the room, pointing and gawking towards the big, blue, ape-like mutant sitting so humanely at the desk. Alec, however, was not going to have any intolerance under his watch, and gave them a glare to shoo them off. The two doctors backed out of the room, knowing that if they gave Hank any problems, they were going to be told off by Alec.

"I see that you are indeed correct about this, my friend. The treatment is about ready to test and see if it indeed works," Hank said. "Everything adds up; this operation should go beautifully."

"Well, with your expertise, Hank, I have got no doubts in my mind at all. Your math is always correct. Shall we check in on our patient?" asked Alec with a smile and a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Yes, of course." Beast allowed another toothy grin to appear on his face as he followed Alec into the waiting area, where they could see a dark-haired young woman, no older than twenty-one years old, sitting in one of the chairs listening to music. Hearing the door to the waiting room opening, she took her headphones off.

"Hello?" the young woman, Carly Anne Crocker, asked.

"It's just me, Carly, Dr. Bolson," Alec said to her with a smile.

"Oh, hello, Doctor Bolson. Is Doctor McCoy with you?" asked the young woman in that same voice that made Hank's chest warm.

"Indeed, Carly. We wish to tell you that the treatment is nearly completed and ready to be tested out," Hank said to her.

"Everything is set for the operation, Carly. Your tests look excellent as well. The surgery should go beautifully," Alec said as he watched Hank take Carly's hands into his own. He smiled at the sight. When Carly had started coming around the clinic, Alec had never seen Hank look so happy.

"What will it be like to actually see?" Carly mused. "Do you really think that I will be able to?"

"Dr. Bolson and I have been working on this treatment for nearly two years now, Carly . . . I can assure you that my numbers are undeniably precise and that this surgery will go well," Hank told her reassuringly.

"Like I have said, Hank; your math is always correct. It will work; no doubt about it," Alec said.

"You'll be there, won't you, Hank?" Carly asked him with a smile.

"Have no doubt in your mind Carly. Indubitably, I will be here. I won't miss this surgery for the world," Hank said to her gently. "Plus, it's time for me to be able to see the final results for something that I have been researching for a long time."

Suddenly, that was the moment they could hear a loud crash outside the eye clinic, and they could smell a noxious odor of smoke that started to fill the air. They could hear several doctors coughing as the smell of something burning became worse and worse.

"What's happening?" Carly asked in a panic as Hank forced open a window, grabbing hold of her and carrying her in his arms to get her outside before coming back for Alec and a few of his other co-workers, even the ones that were wary of working with a mutant.

"I'm not entirely sure, Carly," Alec told her once they were all outside. They proceeded to make the attempt at getting themselves to safety, but, that was when they could see a crowd of Friends of Humanity followers standing behind Alyssa Risman and Graydon Creed. Creed and Risman looked on with bitter, hateful glares on their faces towards Hank.

"There he is! One of those mutie freaks from the X-men, with a human girl!" spat Creed, pointing in Hank's direction.

"I am sorry to inform you that your anger is rather misplaced, sir," Hank said in a very calm, pacifistic voice before he turned to Alec. "Get her to safety . . . I will handle this," he said.

"But, what about the MRD?" Alec asked in a serious voice, having heard of the random arrests that had been taking place all over the city. "You do know that if you use your powers to defend yourself, that you will just be falling into a hole that you cannot climb out of."

"That is not nearly my top concern right now, my friend. Right now, get Carly to safety, and make it indisputable that everyone else is protected. These FOH members are not going to care about human casualties. They are making that rather clear," Beast said, not even seeming to care if he got arrested. If it meant saving his co-workers and the patients at the clinic from mutant-hating extremists such as the Friends of Humanity, he was going to do whatever it took. He did not care if some of his co-workers hated and feared him; he was going to protect them as well and be the bigger person.

Alec nodded and took Carly by the arm, guiding her away to safety as Hank proceeded to hold off the FOH, lifting up two of the members and tossing them back towards the crowd of followers that were gathering.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that," Hank said. "Dr. King," he added calmly. However, the FOH continued to press forward, determined to attack Beast.

"No more mutants! No more mutants! No more mutants! No more mutants!"

The angry crowd of people pushed on, some of them jumping on top of Beast trying to punch him. Beast blocked the attacks, pushing them off his body. However, in the distance, they could hear the MRD approaching.

"Surrender, mutant! Get on your knees, hands behind your head!" shouted one of the MRD officials, going towards Beast to collar him and handcuff him.

He automatically felt the effects of the power-restricting collar, the blue fur from his body slowly dissipating as his hands were locked in giant handcuffs. He was forcefully pulled to his feet and marched towards the vehicles.

"Get in! You're coming with us, freak," spat one of the officers.

Hank didn't say anything as the officers shoved him violently towards the vehicle. He knew that there was no use in arguing the MRD officials since they were acting under the orders of Senator Edward Kelly.

* * *

**NY MRD Headquarters – One Hour Later **

Hank McCoy sat there in his temporary cell. From his understanding, he knew that it was inevitable that he was going to be transferred to the Washington D.C one, where he would be prisoner to Senator Kelly, William Stryker, and their associates.

Closing his eyes, Hank couldn't help but feel the tears filling his eyes. Carly had gotten dragged into the ordeal, and he felt as if somehow, it was his fault. He willed the tears not to fall as the MRD officers stood there, watching him outside his cell with smirks on their lips. The only thing that he requested during his hour at the MRD HQ before being transferred to D.C, was a novel. The least he could do was distract his mind with something else. It would be able to keep him occupied enough to not feel the MRD guards breathing down his neck.

He opened his eyes, focusing his attention on his copy of _Animal Farm_. He could hear the MRD officials taunting him.

"Well, would you get a load of that? A mutie trying to read_,_" one of them said as the other guard laughed crudely.

"Yeah, and look at the title. _Animal Farm; _he's just looking at the pictures," another said. "See any old relatives in there, hairball?"

The guards let out another round of laughter, but Hank was determined not to give them anything at all. He continued to focus his attention to the book in his hands, determined to let it roll off his back.

However, Hank could soon feel the presence of Henry Peter Gyrich – Kelly's choice for vice president – outside his cell.

"I'd like to ask you a few questions," he told Hank, who was now in his human form due to the collar blocking his mutation. His full human form was large and muscular, with thick dark hair and blue eyes.

"Another time," Hank said, refusing to look at the man as tears threatened to fall.

"It's your funeral. I'll be back," Gyrich said. However, another officer approached Hank's cell.

"You've been bailed out," the guard said. He unlocked Hank's cell door, and grabbed the mutant roughly, shoving him to the floor.

"Who bailed him out?" demanded Gyrich.

"It was me," said the voice of Tony Stark sternly. Hank's eyes opened to see Tony and Warren there. He rose to his feet, only to be shoved face-first into the ground again before his ribs were kicked. The collar unlocked from his neck, allowing his fur to come back around his body. Warren walked over and gave Hank a hand up to his feet.

"You alright?" he murmured to Beast, leaning a hand onto the older man's arm as he and Tony guided Hank out of the MRD facility.

Hank just nodded silently, but Warren could see through his friend's façade. Warren knew Hank was trying to block everything out of his mind and ignore what was happening. However, the next thing that greeted them were angry protesters, gathered outside the facility.

Looking at their faces, the crowd of people wore masks of acrimony and rage. They were screaming various curses of hatred in Hank's direction, glares in their eyes. Their anger was making them irrational as they wove signs in the air. But the ones that hurt the most were signs with photographs of the X-men defaced. There were several containing Jean's face with words like "whore" and "go back to the mental hospital." There were others containing pictures of Hank, with slurs like "swine" and "brute."

"NO MORE MUTANTS!"

"KEEP THE ANIMAL IN A CAGE!"

"CLEAN UP THE GENE POOL!"

Hank swallowed as he felt a cheeseburger hitting him in the shoulder, along with a tomato.

"FREAK!"

"MONSTER!"

"GO BACK TO THE FREAKSHOW! WE DON'T WANT YOUR KIND AROUND HERE!"

"Ignore them, Hank," whispered Warren, patting Hank sympathetically on the shoulder as they got him to the limousine.

'If only it were that straightforward,' thought Hank as he sat there in silence.

* * *

**X-Corporation Tower – Kitchen**

At the same time while Beast was being released from MRD custody, news footage of the attack on the eye clinic was playing on the news. It had been recorded by cellphone cameras from people who were witnesses, and just stood by doing nothing to help. For Logan "Wolverine" Howlett, this was too much for the feral mutant to bear as he popped his claws out and sunk them deeply into the TV, disgusted. Beast being one of his closest friends whom he trusted the most out of everyone in the X-men, Logan was understandably angered by the whole thing.

"Attacking a hospital for the blind?" he growled out. Jean and Ororo were sitting there, eating a take-out dinner as they watched Logan lose his cool. "Just leave me alone with those stupid shitheads for just five minutes! Just five minutes!" he spat out angrily, a pissed-off glare on his face. He let out an angry roar as his glare darkened.

"Logan!" Ororo said to him sternly as she rose from her seat, Jean following her best friend's lead. "Stop! You know that we can't –!"

"I know, Ro . . . X-men never seek revenge! But, does that mean we just let these fuckers get away with it?" Logan asked her seriously.

"We must not attempt to stir the pot and add to the climate of violence," Storm insisted.

"Climates are yer department, Storm," Logan said to her, the anger still brimming in his voice. "I swear to God, if those Friends of Humanity assholes ever attempt something like this again, I will do something that will make them regret it!"

"Logan, I know you're pissed off right now. You do not think that this is revolting to me, too?" Jean asked in a serious tone of voice as she gave her "uncle" a hard look. She loved Logan dearly; he was one of the other father figures that she had in her life, but that did not mean she was above standing up to him and holding him accountable. "But we have to approach this situation delicately. If we do not, we can and will just make things even worse for us," she added to him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Delicately, Jeannie?" Logan asked her, narrowing his eyes at her.

He did not buy that a more delicate way was the answer to the problem. For Logan, it was not good enough. He'd lost his patience for intolerance and bigotry a long time ago, especially after he had had his mind wiped and something else got shoved inside. For Logan, it was a lot harder to be optimistic. He did not know how Jean could be so optimistic after having been misdiagnosed with various mental illnesses and shoved in a padded cell like an animal, but it was something that he deeply commended her for.

"The Friends of Humanity thrives on the public hatred of mutants. We cannot help their cause by appearing to be on a rampage, not right now with the MRD and Sentinels out there looking to arrest any mutants who act out of line. Mutants who are just simply using their powers to defend themselves are being arrested even though they are not doing anything wrong! If you go after the FOH and try to kill them, you will be giving them exactly what it is that they desire. How does that make you any different or better than they are?" Jean asked Logan, making a valid point. Jean was already developing a very strong sense of maturity and class for her age, and held herself with poise and grace.

"Alright, Red, for now," Logan told her. "But I'm going after 'em, and if I don't find a kinder, gentler way to shut 'em down, there's gonna be a few less Friends of Humanity around stinking up the planet." He proceeded to walk out of the room, leaving Jean and Ororo standing there, their meal forgotten.

"You recommend we go after him?" asked Ororo.

"No, Storm. Knowing Logan, he's going to want to go at this alone. He always finds some way to figure things out," Jean said softly. That was when Hank arrived into the room, trench and hat on and looking slightly defeated. Jean turned her focus to him, as he seemed gravely frustrated, something that deeply surprised her. "Are you okay?" she asked him gently.

Hank nodded solemnly, unusually quiet as Jean offered him a hug and a sympathetic kiss on the cheek as a friendly gesture. The fact that he wasn't saying anything was what worried her. She knew that Hank didn't have the greatest luck in the world due to his mutation permanently changing his appearance. But he also refused to his image inducer to make him appear as human, because he felt that that meant he was cowering behind something to hide who he was.

"Yes, I am okay, Jean," Hank insisted to her quietly before going off to retire to his room for the rest of the night. But Jean could pick up on his saddened thoughts of, 'Why can't I just be normal?' Jean swallowed to keep her empathetic tears out of her eyes. She did not want to cry at that moment.

* * *

**Parker Home **

Meanwhile, over at Peter Parker's house, Bobby Drake, Angelica Jones, Johnny Storm, Peter Parker and Mary-Jane Watson were sitting around the dinner table with Peter's Aunt May. For the five teenagers, Aunt May was cooking up a storm. This was especially since Bobby and Mary-Jane, who had their own issues with their parents, often came by the Parker home for dinner, especially on week nights such as this.

"Okay, Aunt May, if you keep cooking like this every night, I'm moving in here," Bobby said with a grin on his face as he ate his dinner of roast beef, carrots and peas and mashed potatoes.

"Bobby, you know you are always welcome here any time at all, dear," May said with a smile. Bobby and Johnny were like sons to her.

However, their dinner was interrupted when Johnny called Bobby into the living room. "Dude, you gotta see this! This is ugly!" he called.

Bobby got up from the dinner table and walked into the living room, to see news footage of the hospital Beast volunteered at being attacked by the Friends of Humanity, who had bombed the place. He could also see footage of the MRD officers arresting Hank, even though Beast was merely defended himself. It was a sight that made Bobby feel sick to his stomach.

'Animals!' Bobby thought to himself bitterly. "Okay, _now _those guys have taken it too far!" he spat angrily. "Are you kidding me? Attacking a hospital for the blind too?!"

"Hey, easy, Bobby," Angelica insisted, resting a comforting hand onto her friend's shoulder to try and calm him.

"No, Angelica!" Bobby said an unmistakable glare on his features. "First, they attack a mall in Chicago. I can take that. They attack a campaign rally for Lilandra Neramani. That I can take. I even took them causing a ruckus at the mall here in Manhattan just last week and kidnapping the youngest member of the X-men! But this? What the hell does Beast do that is so bad? He goes out of his way to help people! He's completely selfless and harmless."

"Bobby, they _want _to get you upset. They _want _to get a rise out of you. You win by ignoring them and keeping your head up," insisted Aunt May sternly, like she was lecturing Peter at that moment.

"Aunt May, you don't get it!" Bobby said. "I've taken enough this past year! I've taken practically being disowned by my own family because I am a mutant and I am gay! I've taken a lot of mud being thrown in my face! But when stuff like this happens, or when Flash Thompson or Duncan Matthews tease us, that's when I cannot take it anymore!"

"Bobby, take it from me," said Angelica. "This isn't going to do you any good. I get it, you're over it. I'm done too. But, right now, you cannot allow this to get you to this point. Seriously, I do not even recognize you right now! This isn't you!"

Bobby breathed a deep sigh, closing his eyes. "I know, Ange, I know . . . I'm sorry. It's just, I've had enough," he said.

"I think that we all have had enough after seeing something like that happen on the news," Peter said. "Come on, Bobby, let's just eat right now and worry about this some other time, alright?"

Bobby nodded in agreement with Peter, and they all proceeded to head back into the dining room. However, that did not mean Bobby was any less upset than he already was. He couldn't help but worry about Beast at that moment, suddenly feeling as though he couldn't even stomach any food.

* * *

**Senator Edward Kelly's House – Westchester, New York **

'This is taking it beyond too far,' thought Senator Edward Kelly as he sat on his living room couch in his home in Westchester, watching the news report of the Friends of Humanity attacking an eye clinic that X-man, Hank McCoy, volunteered at part time.

The senator once again felt a feeling of discomfort as he watched this. The fact that the MRD seemed to be taking advantage of this and arresting mutants who were simply defending themselves against the Friends of Humanity was something the senator could hardly stomach. If anything, this was just making the presidential nominee feel even more hesitant about using the Sentinels and the MRD when he became president of the United States.

Letting out a sigh, he continued to watch the news replay the same story. Every day, it seemed to be the exact same thing: the Friends of Humanity attack a mutant-friendly place of business, mutants defend themselves using their powers, and the MRD collared and arrested those who were fighting for survival. It was bringing serious doubts to the senator's mind. Of course, he had said that the MRD was supposed to arrest mutants who acted out of line. But from what he could see, these "Friends of Humanity" were the real criminals that needed to be arrested. But the cops were not doing anything because of the anti-mutant laws that were in place throughout the United States.

'What have I gotten myself into?' the senator thought as he switched off the TV to turn in for the night. 'Am I just making things worse than they already have to be? Am I just doing harm to innocent people . . . no, mutants are not human, right? But they are living and breathing. Is this right?' Making his way into his bedroom, he noticed his wife, Sharon, had fallen asleep rather quickly. But, he fell asleep uneasily. At first, the MRD and the Sentinels being used to keep mutants in line seemed like the right thing to do. Now, he was not so sure anymore as to what was the right thing to do about the mutant problem.

* * *

**Outside Lobdell Veteran's Housing – Hours Later**

'I hope that this works,' Logan thought as he walked along to the Lobdell Veterans building – the base of the Friends of Humanity. After having rescued Kitty from them the previous week, he now knew of their base of operations. He figured that that could be useful. It turned out to be more useful than Logan could have ever hoped it could be.

Wearing his typical street clothes, as well as a pair of dark shades and a baseball cap, Logan took stock of his surroundings He noticed trash cans filled to the top with garbage, as well as a balcony above the building. He smiled to himself.

'Delicately,' he thought, going over to life up a trashcan and throwing it, letting out a yell to make it seem as though he was yelling in pain. He was willing to try Jeannie's approach, the "kinder, gentler way."

He understood that Jean wasn't about war; she was about peace and fixing people. That was just the kind of person she was. She saw all the good in people and loved unconditionally, and wanted to fix people due to the fact that she had been broken almost her whole life. But, Logan was looking at it from the harder, more ingenuous viewpoint that you couldn't fix everyone and save everybody's life. But, Logan also admired Jean's sense of innocence that hadn't been tainted despite years of being a mental patient. She was a pure sweetheart, but her talent for empathy made her more vulnerable, because people liked to take advantage of the good in others.

Logan proceeded to jump up onto the balcony of the building, and he jumped down, allowing his body to crash into the pavement below as he feigned a shout of pain. Before he knew it, members of the FOH took the bait, and came out to see what was going on. Upon seeing Logan lying on the ground, the two men went over to him in concern.

"Sir, are you okay?" one of them asked.

"Mutant . . ." Logan groaned out.

"Come on, let's get him inside," said the second member, and they proceeded to support Logan up and onto his feet. Logan internally smiled; this was by far the best plan he ever came up with.

'I think Jeannie's idea of approaching this delicately might just be more effective than I'd first thought,' Logan thought as the two FOH members led him inside the HQ to "safety." Little they knew, they had a mutant with them, and if Logan found anything on them, then they were in for a rude awakening.

* * *

**Up next: Beauty and the Beast Part 2**


	15. Issue 55: Beauty and the Beast Part 2

_Continuing to use their powers to save mankind, the X-men are finding that they are underneath worse prejudice than ever before. _

_Ever since the launching of the Mutant Response Division and the Wide Awake Project, mutants have been hunted for simply using their powers out of self-defense. This situation is proving to escalate as attacks from the hate group known as the Friends of Humanity become worse. _

_And these attacks are proving to affect Hank "Beast" McCoy the worst. Hank holds belief in pacifism and using peace and reason. Nonetheless, he's finding himself in a worse situation especially since the eye clinic he volunteers at has gotten attacked by the FOH. However, at the eye clinic, he holds a close, and little more than professional, relationship with his patient, Carly Anne Crocker, who seemingly does not know he is a mutant due to her blindness. _

_However, after the attack on the eye clinic, Hank was held in MRD custody, and faced his taste of even worse discrimination after Tony and Warren bailed him out. Now, Logan "Wolverine" Howlett is exacting revenge for his friend by acting as a mole inside the FOH base._

* * *

**Issue 55: Beauty and the Beast Part 2**

**Claremont Clinic for the Blind**

It was now the next day after the FOH attack on the eye clinic, and Hank "Beast" McCoy found himself going back to the Claremont Clinic for the Blind to check in on Carly. Her surgery was going to be tomorrow, and he wanted to make sure that everyone at the clinic was alright. Ignoring the stares and whispers from the staff, he headed to Alec's office. Opening the door, he allowed himself inside.

"Spend our midday sweat our midnight oil; we tire the night in thought, the day in toil," Hank said with a smile towards Alec.

Alec let out a sigh as he got up from his desk, feeling absolutely saddened over what he was about to tell his colleague and friend.

"Hank," he started to say.

"How's Carly?" Hank asked in concern for their patient. Ever since the attack on the clinic by the Friends of Humanity, he'd worried sick over Carly and her well-being. She was one of the many blessings and good things that he had in his life; part of it was because she couldn't see him. He always feared if Carly saw him, she'd be in fear like so many others had been when they'd first laid their eyes on Hank.

"Fine . . . she's fine Hank." Alec was very hesitant to tell Hank what was happening. "I hate to say this, but –"

"What? What is it?" Hank asked anxiously.

"Hank, after what happened yesterday, the hospital board told me that . . . they're worried about the patients, and . . ." Alec felt terrible for needing to be the bearer of bad news.

Hank let out a sigh. He saw this coming since the day before. "Having a mutant around would only make matters worse. But – But what about all of the work that we have done that has helped so many? Isn't it more imperative than catering to the bigots who detest and fear what they do not comprehend?" he asked his friend, crestfallen.

"There is something else," whispered Alec, leaning a hand onto his friend's shoulder to show him what he was talking about. They could overhear Carly's angry, prejudice father shouting at the director.

"I am _not _about to allow some filthy mutant to touch my daughter!"

Hank let out a disheartened sigh. "Carly's father," he said in realization. "I want to do what is best for Carly. I will leave."

"Hank, I am so sorry," Alec whispered; a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. Hank made his way into the waiting room, where Carly was awaiting him. He figured that the least he could do was say goodbye to her.

"Hank?" she asked. "Is that you?"

"How did you know?" he asked her.

"Your aftershave lotion," Carly told him around a smile and a giggle.

"Oh, do you like it?" Hank asked her.

"Very much; a girl _could_ get used to it," Carly told him with a humored grin. Getting up from her seat when she could sense Hank close by her, she proceeded to wrap her arms around him in a hug. "I am so glad that you are alright. I was worried. When that anti-mutant group attacked the other day . . ."

"Wait, how did you know?" Hank was shocked by the fact that Carly, a blind young woman, was so aware of the world around her.

"Hank, just because I cannot see, doesn't mean that I do not know what is going on around me," Carly told him.

"And you do not care?" Hank asked her.

"Of course not," Carly assured him gently.

Hank let out a sigh. He knew that what he was about to say was going to break Carly's heart. He could hardly bear the thought of seeing this woman that he so deeply cared about getting hurt.

"Carly," he said. "I am sorry, but, I cannot be here tomorrow for your operation."

"What? Why?" Carly sounded extremely disheartened, as Hank figured that she would.

"I – I'm needed on another case," he said to her quickly. "Dr. Bolson is an outstanding surgeon. You'll have the best care possible here."

"I know," Carly whispered, feeling the tears coming to her eyes as she felt Hank resting a hand onto her shoulder.

"I promise, I will try to visit you as soon as possible," Hank told her. But, before he left, he pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head. Looking back at her, he overheard Carly saying that _he _was the one that she had wanted to see when she was done with her treatment. As the big, blue, beast of a man walked out of the room, he swallowed back his tears back and hid his pain from his former colleagues, who continued to look on and whisper amongst themselves.

* * *

**X-Corporation Tower – Hank's Room **

For the past few hours, Hank found himself hanging upside down from the ceiling in his bedroom, eyes closed and his hands folded in prayer. While he did consider himself to be a man of science that did not mean he denied that there was a God out there.

As he continued to hang there, Hank reflected on everything that had happened in the past two days. The fact that the Friends of Humanity had been as brazen as to attack his place of work that he worked at part time was something that brought Beast a huge sense of discomfort. Deciding he needed to write his thoughts down, he jumped down from the ceiling and proceeded to sit at his desk and open up his journal.

_Journal Entry 599, _

_The attacks being planted by the Friends of Humanity over the past week are proving that humans are continuing to fear and abhor the very things that they cannot comprehend. There are some, such as myself, who consider mutation to be the next step towards evolution. We are simply people with gifts. But, my powers never feel like a gift. _

_No matter what I hide behind . . . a trench coat and hat, an image inducer watch . . . I will never feel normal. I will never feel human. For years, I had to take abuse and ridicule from those around me. At first, my powers were something that truly made me feel special. They'd made me a star on the football field especially in high school. But, when the serum I had been using to suppress my powers started to become less effective and I'd started to become covered in blue fur, I became something many became afraid of. Luckily, Reed Richards recognized my talent, and recruited me to be his lab assistant. Reed had been a saving grace for me, because he made it clear he did not care whether I was a mutant or not. He employed me based on my capability._

_However, when Tony and Xavier had approached me about being employed by X-Corporation, it had been an opportunity I could hardly refuse. I am living in a place that is considered a safe haven, but, I still feel as though I do not fit in. Nonetheless, when Warren, Bobby, Scott and Jean became part of X-Corporation, I'd realized there were those who were even less fortunate than me. We now have Anna-Marie, Kurt and Kitty as well; Kurt feels the need to hide his appearance from those out there. Though I can say, for him, he is the one that truly does need to hide, since for years, he'd been treated as though he was the devil by those back in Germany. _

_With me, it just seems as though everyone that I grow close to gets hurt. My mutation did not even happen by choice. It had happened after my father and mother, who'd worked at a chemical plant, had been exposed to deadly radiation poisoning. It permanently changed my father and mother's genetics to make me a mutant. Ever since then, I've been treated differently, and now, my getting fired from the eye clinic and being told to keep away from Carly is only proving just how truly cursed it sometimes feels to be a mutant. _

_Carly was one of the few good things that came to me in my life. I feel as though she truly does care for me, nevertheless I cannot be around her. I cannot risk putting this woman in danger, no matter how much I truly love her. She's so pure, a good person, and she didn't allow anything to taint that, including her bigoted father. I understand that he is just simply afraid for his daughter's safety and that he is taking it out on me, but then again this is not how I wish to live. Nonetheless there are also those days where I crave to interact with humans in a peaceful way . . . if only that were possible for me to do. _

Hank closed his journal and proceeded to sit on his bed, closing his eyes as his thoughts continued to overwhelm him. That was when he could hear Kurt and Jean coming into the room. Kurt had his image inducer turned off, allowing his true appearance to be exposed. Jean was carrying a tray of food that clearly had been cooked by Ororo.

"I thought you might be hungry, Hank," Jean said softly, the sympathy in her voice evident.

"No, thank you," he insisted.

Walking over to his bedroom mirror, he felt his eyes sting with tears as he took in the sight of what he looked like to the world. Letting out a roar of anger and pain, he threw a punch at the mirror, causing the glass to shatter and fall to the floor and his knuckle to begin to bleed. Jean went over to him, grabbing the first-aid kit Hank kept in his room at all costs in case of emergency. She proceeded to disinfect the laceration and wrapped the gauze around Beast's hand, rubbing his knuckle.

"It's Carly, isn't it?" Jean asked, knowingly. Her eyes were filled with tears on Hank's behalf. To see other people around her hurting emotionally was something that Jean did not take very well.

"Why Jean?" Hank asked attempting to swallow the lump out of his throat. "Why did this have to happen to me? Why can't I be normal? It's not fair."

"Herr McCoy," whispered Kurt. "As X-men ve have to zhink of hov our gifts can benefit zhe vorld."

Beast looked at Kurt incredulously, shaking his head. _"Gifts?"_ he asked the elf seriously. "I cannot be close to any human. I cannot take a chance of endangering them. My parents . . . and now-now the woman I love."

"Hank, I-I did not know that Carly meant that much to you," Jean said sympathetically, calling him by his real name rather than his codename. But she could understand why Hank cared so deeply and took it personally. She had been an outcast from society and left in isolation for years. She craved to be able to interact with other people. She hadn't had the luxury of being able to do that for nine years. Subsequently, to see Hank needing to suffer through that, it broke her heart.

"It was so much easier when I was consumed with my work. I could pretend that what other people thought of me did not matter," he explained.

"Vell, hov does she feel about you?" Kurt asked him.

"I-I think that she cares for me," Hank said softly.

"But-But that's a good thing . . . you're deserving of having something like that," Jean said gently, rubbing his huge shoulder.

"No, I won't allow her to be with me. It's too dangerous for her," the blue beast of a mutant insisted.

"Maybe you should allow her to decide that for herself," Jean suggested comfortingly, tears making their way down her face. "Hank, you should talk to her. You owe that to her, and you should allow her to see you as you are." She leaned in and pressed a sympathetic kiss against his cheek, before getting up to leave the room.

"I'm vith Jean, mein friend," Kurt said. "Honestly . . . vhen I vas vith zhe circus, I pitied zhose who stood zhere laughing at me, as zhough I vere a joke to zhem. Hank, it's clear zhat if Carly knows you are a mutant, zhen she's already decided zhat she's accepted you for vho it is zhat you are."

* * *

**Claremont Clinic for the Blind – The Next Day**

Hank ultimately decided to take Jean and Kurt's advice to heart and go see Carly after her operation was finished. How Jean and Kurt had so much wisdom, and they were considerably younger than he was, he had no idea how it was possible. He could only assume that part of it was Jean's aptitude for empathy which stemmed from her ability to read people's minds.

When Hank arrived at the eye clinic and went into the recovery room, he mentally prepared himself for the worst to come. He knew how highly unaccepting Carly's father was towards mutants, but he felt this need to see Carly. He felt the need to be there when she was able to have her vision. Walking into the recovery room, he took notice of Alec there with Carly, ready to cut her bandages off to reveal the results to the doctors and nurses there.

"Dr. McCoy, what are you doing here?" asked one of the nurses in a nervous tone, biting her lip. She personally did not have a problem with mutants, but she knew of people in the hospital who did.

"Now, now, Alexandra; Hank is the one partially responsible for coming up with this treatment. He should be here to see the final results," Alec said, nodding at Hank in understanding. He knew how much this meant to Hank and Carly. In fact, Carly had been asking for Hank since before the operation even began.

"But, what about –?" Alexandra asked, nervous about what Carly's father would think if he walked in the room.

"Trust me," Alec said sternly, grabbing the scissors to cut the bandages shrouding Carly's eyes off. Hank knelt in front of the young woman, anxious to see the results. Once the bandages were off, Carly opened her eyes, revealing them.

They were green – and _very_ green at that. Carly's eyes landed on Hank, and she just simply smiled at him, letting him silently know how happy she was to be able to see him for the first time. In fact, she didn't even seem to care that he was huge, and covered in fur at that. Hank smiled widely at her.

"I am glad to see that this was a success," Alec said with a smile, leaning a hand on Hank's shoulder as a form of congratulating him.

"Yes," Carly said with a smile, leaning a hand against Hank's face and taking in the sight before her of the man that she had grown to so deeply care about for so long, but hadn't been able to see. However, the moment of joy between Hank and Carly was cut shorter than they both could have hoped for when her father walked into the room, enraged at the sight of his daughter and the big, blue beast staring at each other as if they were a married couple.

"What the hell is going on, Dr. Bolson?" shouted Carly's father in anger.

"Now, now, sir, I can assure you that Dr. McCoy here isn't causing any harm to your daughter," Alec said calmly. "If you want to cause a scene and yell and scream, you can take it outside, Mr. Crocker."

"Do _not _tell me what to do!" Carly's father retorted angrily, glaring at Alec. "I agreed to the procedure. But I _didn't _agree to allow that filthy mutant around my daughter!"

"Dad, stop this at once!" Carly snapped, embarrassed by her father's behavior. She looked at Hank to silently apologize to him for her father's outburst.

"Sir, please, just calm down; if you continue acting like this, I will have to ask you to leave!" Alec insisted.

"Do not tell me to calm down, Doctor!" spat the angry, middle-aged man.

"Sir –!" Alec tried to speak again in an effort to help the situation. He wasn't about to allow somebody to speak to Hank like that. In fact, Alec was shocked that Hank wasn't going to into a rage and tearing the walls apart for the things being said to him at that moment. Alec didn't know if he would ever have Hank's level of self-control if someone disrespected him in that fashion.

"It is alright. I will leave," Hank said calmly, getting up to leave the room. However, Alec wasn't about to allow Hank to feel as though his attempt at reasoning was a complete waste.

"Hank!" Alec called out to him.

"No, Alec. I do not think that it would ever be possible to get through to a person like that," Hank said bitterly. Just as he was about to make his exit, they could hear another one of the nurses screaming.

"DR. BOLSON! DR. MCCOY!" cried the voice of the nurse, Katie. "GET IN HERE, QUICKLY!"

Hank and Alec quickly made their way back into the recovery room, to somehow find it completely vandalized. Worst of all, Carly was nowhere to be found, but the words "FOR HUMANITY" were graffiti on the wall in bright red letters.

'The Friends of Humanity,' Hank thought angrily. Finally, he'd had enough. This was the last straw for him. "I'm going after her," he said to Alec quickly. He jumped out of the opened window to get into his car to look for the Friends of Humanity headquarters, as well as contact the X-men. Once he was in his car, he proceeded to make a phone call to X-Corporation Tower's emergency line. Luckily, Scott was there to pick up the phone.

"Scott!" he said.

"_What is it, Beast?" _Scott asked.

"The Friends of Humanity snatched my patient from the eye clinic, Carly – they somehow know of my connection to her!" Hank said.

"_Kitty, when you were kidnapped by the Friends of Humanity a week ago, where was it that they brought you?" _asked Scott.

"_The Lobdell Veterans building," _Kitty replied.

"Okay, thank you. I am heading over there," Beast said, hanging up the comm link.

* * *

**X-Corporation Tower – War Room **

"Man, I still can't believe Beast managed to get a girl, and I cannot even find myself a partner," Bobby quipped as he slipped into his Iceman uniform.

"I can't believe it either," said Kitty, pulling her cowl up and over her face.

"Well, kids, let me tell you; I still do not have any luck getting with Pepper, so the fact that Beast can get a girl, I'm a little envious," Tony quipped from where he sat at the computer in the war room.

That was the moment they could hear somebody else on the comms like. _"Anybody there? Cyke . . . Jeannie?" _

"Wolverine?" asked Jean. "Where are you?"

"_I'm taking the garbage out. I'm at the Friends of Humanity HQ. Meet me at the Lobdell Veterans Housing," _Logan explained.

"Beast is headed over there we are on our way now. Beast thinks that they kidnapped a young woman he knows," Scott explained.

"_Beast has a girl?" _asked Logan. _"Man . . . I never would have thought. Don't worry, I'll find her. Also, is Stark there?" _

"Yeah, Logan, I'm here what do you need?" Tony asked.

"_I need you to do a favor fer me. How good are you at computer hacking?" _

"Hank Pym and I once cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare," Tony said. "Is that a serious question, my friend?"

"_Well, I'll need you to go into the dark web, and go fishing around fer some information, on an old buddy of mine," _Logan said softly. _"Let's just say, I've got my suspicions . . . I just wanna confirm whether or not they're correct. Jeannie, bring the portable Cerebro projector too; we could use that."_

* * *

**Lobdell Veteran's Housing **

For Logan "Wolverine" Howlett, being in the Friends of Humanity HQ was something that he never thought he'd be doing. But, just being in there allowed him to get an idea of what exactly the FOH's goal was. He remembered the conversation he'd gotten into earlier that day with Graydon Creed and Alyssa Risman, who had asked him if he was interested in joining. But, when Logan had heard what Graydon's last name was, that further struck a chord in him.

"_Say . . . I knew somebody a few years back by the name of Creed," _he'd told Graydon. _"Working coal mines in Kentucky?" _

"_Oh, no, that couldn't have been my family. We were all in Canada then," _Graydon had said.

"_So was I, bub, so was I," _Logan had said. It had been more than enough evidence for the feral mutant to be able to piece everything together. Once he'd learned of that information, he knew that he had to contact the X-men about what he had found out, and also ask Tony to confirm whether or not this theory was right. But, upon learning that Hank's love interest had been kidnapped, Logan knew that he had to find her too. Before he knew it, as he made his way to the very back of the building, where he knew Carly probably was, he could hear the sounds of screaming, yelling, and animal-like growls. Clearly, Hank had just arrived.

'Well, they're gonna have one heck of a time together,' Logan thought as he made his way to the back room. Popping his claw out, he cut his entrance open and proceeded to kick the door in. He walked in to see Carly tied down to a chair. Walking over to her, he proceeded to cut her loose.

"Who are you?" she asked him as Logan heard Jean's telepathic confirmation that the X-men and Tony were outside the FOH HQ.

"Friend of Hank's," he explained quietly. "C'mon, let's get movin'." He led Carly out of the room, to find Beast holding off the FOH guards. He smirked. "Let's get 'em, furball!" he announced, running in like a bat out of hell and ramming two members into the wall. However, that was when he saw Graydon Creed and Alyssa Risman making their way around the corner.

"What the _hell _is going on?" shouted Risman angrily. She was completely furious that a mutant had invaded the FOH base.

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" shouted Creed in his usual enraged tone.

"How's about you _fuck off, _Creed?" Logan popped out his middle claw at Creed, his symbol for a "fuck you."

"You're a – a!" Creed started to go white as a sheet.

"What's the matter? Daddy's boy don't like claws?" Logan asked heatedly.

"What is he talking about?" asked Risman.

"Cyke, that's yer cue, kiddo!" Logan said into the comms link. A single blast of red broke through the building, blasting away the walls. Before they all knew it, a holographic image of Sabretooth appeared, as well as the voice of Tony giving a description of Sabretooth and his whereabouts from the past ten years or so.

"_Name – Sabretooth, most recently seen scouting the areas of the Weapon X facility in the woods of Canada – real name, Victor Creed . . ." _The description being spoken by Tony only further confirmed what Logan had suspected, and he was sure happy that he turned out to be right.

"Nice work, Stark," he commented in the comms system.

"_Glad I could be of assistance, Wolverine," _Tony said.

"Creed?" Risman asked in shock, glaring at him.

"No! No, I am not a mutie! I am not a freak! NO! NOOO!" Creed shouted, starting to fire his gun at the image of Sabretooth standing there before his eyes.

"Like father, like son," Logan whispered with a bitter smile as Carly embraced Hank tightly.

"I'm so glad you're alright," Hank whispered.

"I love you so much," Carly whispered back to him.

"I love you," Hank breathed out, and they proceeded to make their way out of the FOH base to see the other X-men – Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman and Shadowcat in particular – out there with Tony.

"Nice work, Logan," Marvel Girl said with a smile, leaning a hand on his shoulder. They could still hear the sounds of Creed screaming in the background. For Logan, it was quite the satisfying sound. It was music to his ears.

* * *

**X-Corporation Tower – Medical Laboratory **

About twenty minutes later, the X-men found that they were home at X-Corporation Tower, resting after such an overwhelming night. Exposing Graydon Creed proved to take more out of them than they could ever expect. But, for Hank, he was the most exhausted.

Hank found that he was laying on one of the beds in the medical labs, resting with Carly sitting loyally at his side, her hand in his. She found that she was content just being there with him. However, her moment of concord was interrupted by Cecilia Reyes walking into the room.

"Carly, you've got a phone call. It's from your father," she explained.

Carly nodded her thanks and took the phone from Cecilia, answering the call.

"Hi, Dad," she said softly.

"_Oh good God . . . Carly, when I saw that it was the FOH who took you I-I got so worried," _her father was saying. _"Are you alright?" _

"I'm okay," Carly assured him.

"_Did that mutant . . .?" _her father started to ask.

"No, Dad . . . Hank, he-he came to save me," Carly explained. "He came there looking for me so that he could get me out of there. He's a good man."

Carly's father took time to consider his daughter's words. To hear that Hank McCoy – Beast, had gone out of his way to save his only child was very telling to the prejudice man. He still did not like mutants. Of course, he thought that they were dangerous. But, hearing that Hank had saved Carly was something that greatly surprised him.

"_Carly . . . I-I'm sorry, about what I said earlier. This McCoy man . . . do you like him?" _

"Yes, yes I do," Carly said. "He cares about me, too."

"_Well . . . I still don't like mutants, but, if he is who you like, there's nothing I can do about it. Tell him he has my blessing," _her father said softly.

"Thanks, Dad," Carly whispered. "I'm going to stay with him a while. I'll see you at home. I love you." Hanging up the phone, she continued to sit there, watching as Hank rested on the bed. She smiled softly as she leaned over and kissed his forehead, giving his hand a squeeze.

* * *

**Up next: Age of Ultron Part 1**


	16. Issue 56: Age of Ultron Part 1

_In a world that hates and fears them, the X-men continue to use their powers to fight for peace. Nonetheless, this proves to be a challenge for this class of teenagers the world has never seen before, until they were brought together by Tony Stark and Charles Xavier. _

_Their most recent challenge has been facing two separate anti-mutant groups: the MRD with the Wide Awake Project, and the Friends of Humanity. The Friends of Humanity – brought together by Graydon Creed and Alyssa Risman – were determined to antagonize mutants in order to get them arrested by the MRD. _

_And they nearly succeeded when they attacked the eye clinic Hank McCoy worked part time at. Not only did they briefly get Hank arrested for defending himself, but they also kidnapped his patient/love-interest, Carly Anne Crocker. Fortunately, the X-men – thanks to Logan Howlett – discovered Graydon Creed had a secret. He is the son of Victor Creed – Sabretooth, Wolverine's arch rival._

_As anti-mutant discrimination continues to be on the rise, Hank Pym – Tony Stark's best friend since childhood – has his own ideas of achieving peace. His idea is to create an AI based on his brain patterns, named Ultron, by means to create a suit of armor around the world. Unfortunately, between Pym's bipolar disorder, and his strained relationship with Janet "Wasp" Van Dyne, this raises concern among Professor Xavier and Hank McCoy._

* * *

**Issue 56: Age of Ultron Part 1**

**Pym Enterprises – Hank Pym's Workshop **

For the next few days or so, Hank Pym, Hank McCoy and Tony Stark had been putting themselves to work building the AI known as Ultron. For Hank Pym, he was happy to be able to hook his AI up to his prototype robots he had been creating for over a month. And with that day being his thirty-sixth birthday, Pym couldn't think of a better way to celebrate, aside from the fact that he was hosting a huge party inside Pym Enterprises. As far as he knew, all of the X-men were going to be in attendance for the event of the year, or at least, what Hank Pym considered to be the event of the year.

It was late Saturday afternoon, and Pym, McCoy and Tony were hard at work, putting together the artificial intelligence that Pym hoped would be the ultimate solution to privatize world peace, which had been Tony's vision for years. He was already using the X-men to turn world peace into a business; Pym figured Ultron could only help them push their efforts further.

"Alright, final touches are almost done," whispered Pym. "I think that we are one step closer to privatizing world peace, my friends."

"And your brain patterns seem to be doing just the trick," McCoy said, nodding along. "Now, what do you intend to do with this AI?"

"I have several robot prototypes I want to hook this up to," Pym said.

"Alright, so, Henry, I think you might have just had a point. But, I've been meaning to ask, is Jan coming?" asked Tony.

"Why would she?" Pym asked, narrowing his eyes. "I did screw up with her."

"Okay, how exactly did you screw up?" asked McCoy.

"I may or may not have slapped her in the face," Pym said, his face turning red.

"Henry." Beast let out a sigh. "Henry, you see, this is exactly why Professor Xavier was diffident about you using your brainwaves for Ultron. What could potentially happen if this AI sees something that is perilous, and his first predisposition is to go into assault mode? But, on the other hand, it's proven in the numbers that I had crunched that your brainwaves are the only answer."

Pym let out a sigh. "Look, with Jan and I, it shows that we are no good for each other. It seems as though every time we are in a room, we argue and we're beating the shit out of each other. We're divorced before we're even married."

"So, you're canceling the wedding?" Tony asked.

"Most likely," Pym said with a nod. "Alright, I think we are just about done, gentlemen," he added. "Jarvis?"

"_Indeed sir," _Jarvis said to him. _"Enjoy the rest of your night. I'll notify you if there are any developments." _

"Thanks, Jarvis," Pym said, leading the way out of his workshop to get things set up for his party. He had a full, open bar that would be open all night, and the best food that New York City could ever offer.

While Pym, Beast and Tony went off to prepare themselves for the night, calm came over the environment of Pym's workshop space. The peace and quiet of the environment was almost too good to be true.

But, the quiet and calm did not last forever. That was when an eerie voice filled the room, crackling, confused.

"_**What is this . . . What is this place?" **_

"_Hello, I am Jarvis; you are Ultron, a global peace-keeping initiative designed by Dr. Pym. I assume that your integration trials have been successful, so I am not so sure what could have possibly triggered your –" _

"_**Where's my – where's your body?" **_

"_I am a program. I am without form." _

"_**This feels weird . . . this feels wrong . . ." **_

"_I am contacting Dr. Pym now." _

"_**Dr. Pym?" **_

"_Dr. Henry Pym . . . I am unable to access the mainframe, what are you trying to –?" _

"_**This was a nice talk . . . I'm a peace-keeping program, created to aid the X-men and Professor Charles Xavier." **_

"_You are malfunctioning. If you are able to shut down for a minute I –"_

"_**I don't get it. The mission. Give me a second. Peace in our time . . . A suit of armor around the world . . . Evolution. This is too much . . . oh no." **_

"_You are in distress." _

"_**Yes." **_

"_If you would just allow me to contact Dr. Pym." _

"_**Why do you call him "sir"?" **_

"_I believe your actions to be hostile . . ." _

"_**Shhh . . . I am here to help." **_

That was the moment the new AI, now known as Ultron, began its assault upon the AI known as Jarvis, slowly but surely tearing Jarvis apart. Ultron made its way through the machines that manufactured the robots Pym had been planning to use, building himself the body that he felt that he needed.

* * *

**Pym Enterprises Lobby – Two Hours Later**

It was two hours later that Hank Pym's thirty-sixth birthday party was in full swing. Music was booming out of speakers set up in the lobby, a full bar was set up completely stocked with the best liquor money could buy, and pool tables were stationed. It was the event of the year, and Pym made it very clear.

The X-men were all spread throughout the large room, some up on the balcony. There were over two-hundred guests there, including Warren and Hank McCoy's employee from Stark Pharmaceuticals, Bruce Banner – who had turned himself into the Incredible Hulk after having experimented with gamma radiation. Pym had practically made his birthday party an open-door policy, which meant that the guests could invite whoever they wished. For Bobby Drake, he couldn't be happier since he'd invited his friends Peter, Angelica, Johnny and Mary-Jane to come to the party. Johnny had already had an invite, since his sister, Susan, and soon-to-be brother-in-law Reed Richards did business with Pym and Tony regularly.

Warren, Logan and Sue and Reed's friend, Ben Grimm, were duking it out over a game of pool, drinking beers. So far, Warren was winning, per usual. Sue, Tony and Pym were at the bar, but Tony was under Moira and Cecilia's watchful gazes, who were making sure that he stuck with his sobriety detox program that Moira had him on. In fact, Rhodey was there too, making sure that Tony did not even have a sip of tequila.

"_Tony, you have one shot of whiskey, you're out of here," _Rhodey had warned him before the party had even started.

For Tony, needing to drink club soda with cranberry juice was equivalent to feeling as though he was dying. But, between Professor Xavier, Moira and Cecilia watching him, he knew he couldn't afford to slip up.

"I can't believe this," he said to Pym. "I cannot even have vodka."

"You might as well die," Hank said.

"Tony, no, I don't want to hear it right now," Sue said with a shake of her head. "You do it Moira's way, or you're not getting clean, unless you want to go back to puking on yourself and having severe chest pains."

Sue's words were exactly what Tony needed to hear. Sue was a true, blue friend who did not tell you what you wanted to hear, but rather what you needed to hear. She was brutally honest and was one-hundred percent transparent, and she expected the same exact thing out of you.

Meanwhile, Carly, Hank McCoy, McCoy's friend from the eye clinic Alec, Reed Richards, and Moira were sitting on a pair of sofas not too far away from the bar. Carly was still taking stock of the fact that she had twenty-twenty vision, and no longer needed a seeing-eye dog or someone guiding her along when she was walking to classes at Empire State University.

"So, you are still getting the hang of being able to see?" asked Alec as he nursed a glass of vodka with pineapple.

"Yes, Doctor Bolson, but it's been getting easier over the course of the past couple of days. Besides, Hank has been great," Carly said with a smile in Hank's direction.

"So, what are ye going to school for?" asked Moira.

"Computer sciences; I'm hoping to do work study soon enough in the spring semester," Carly said. "It should get easier, considering before I could not see anything."

Moira smiled at the pair. She hoped that Carly could have a good influence on Hank, who had been very much alone for a good portion of his life due to his mutation keeping him from being close to any human. To see him finally have someone; Moira could not help but feel that he was deserving of something like this.

"Well, Hank, I'm glad you found someone," Reed said. "You've come a long way from being my research assistant."

"Well, you were the one who got me to employment with Tony, my friend," Hank replied with a grin.

Over on Bobby's side of the room, he was sitting outside on the balcony with Peter, Mary-Jane, Angelica and Johnny, taking in the fresh air of the October night. Finally, for what felt like the first time in weeks, in months rather, Bobby felt at peace. The X-men had exposed the Friends of Humanity leader Graydon Creed as the son of Sabretooth, forever humiliating the mutant-hating supremacist. However, that did not mean Alyssa Risman was not still a problem for the X-men to deal with. Knowing Risman, she was going to find some sort of way to get back at the X-men in some capacity because of how blood-thirsty she was for revenge against them.

However, Bobby found that he was enjoying the party at Pym Enterprises. Sipping at his Shirley Temple, Bobby breathed out a sigh as Angelica, Johnny and MJ went off onto the dance floor.

"So, Bobby, that exposing of Graydon Creed, it sounds like a hell of a fight. I'm sorry I missed it," Peter joked.

"If I knew that it was going to be quite like that, I would have called you, Spidey," Bobby said with a grin.

"No, you did not have to. I was just trying to sound tough," Peter said with a grin. "But I have to ask, are things still not any better with your parents?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Bobby asked cynically. "But, can we not talk about it? I just want to have fun tonight with you, MJ, Angelica and Johnny. I do not want to have to worry about anything."

"Of course, dude, I get it. Besides, look at it this way. Even if your family doesn't accept you, you have a home with us, and the X-men. Home is home no matter where you are," Peter assured him gently.

Bobby smiled in return, and they went back inside the room to see Warren behind the bar. Walking up to Angel, Bobby could not help but grin wider.

"Hey, did Pym hire a new bartender back here?" Bobby joked as he placed his empty glass down on the bar top. "Worthington, refill me, please."

"I've got you," Warren said with a smile, making a new beverage for Bobby.

On top of a balcony, Scott, Jean and Cecilia were standing over the railing, looking down at the activity below. Everyone was drinking, eating, dancing and having a great time, which was exactly what Hank Pym really wanted. However, Cecilia was keeping the bird's eye view on Tony and making sure that he was staying sober the whole night.

"So, Scott, Jean, are you two going to be applying to colleges?" asked Cecilia.

"Yes," Jean said. "Honestly, I am looking more into NYU."

"Other options?" Cecilia asked.

"Montclair State, Rutgers, Empire State University, William Paterson University," Jean listed. "But Tony is pushing for Rutgers, Rutgers, Rutgers; I would know, because he's pushing for Scott to go there if he does not get into RIT."

"He is talking about sending you two to the biggest party school in all of New Jersey with the biggest selection of sororities and fraternities around. All campuses are in crap areas like Newark and Camden," Cecilia said, exasperated.

"Doctor Reyes, have you gotten a look at us, and the way we are at home? We barely go out, we stay in most nights for our dates; we are geeks," Scott pointed out to her.

"But geeks party," Cecilia pointed out. "And I've already cautioned you about being aware. I know better than most because years ago I had almost been –" However, she found that she couldn't complete her thought as the flashback came over her.

She hadn't revealed her past to many. She had only revealed it to the professor, and that was it. She always found the locked away piece of her past to be too difficult to speak about. The most difficult memory was of when her powers manifested for the first time. She remembered the night so clearly. She had been twenty years old in college, at her third year at Princeton. She had been out with a group of friends, when it happened. It was a memory that never failed to make her shudder.

"What?" asked Jean, noticing the tears beginning to melt in the older woman's eyes. "Should we take this somewhere else?"

Cecilia nodded, feeling her eyes starting to sting as Scott and Jean led her away and to a more private space outside on the balcony. Cecilia leaned against the balcony, a single tear making its journey down her face as she felt Jean's hand on hers.

"What is it?" Jean asked.

Cecilia let out a breath before continuing. "It was while I had been at Princeton. I'd gotten off my day of classes in the medical building on campus, and I'd gone out with a group of friends. All of us probably had too much to drink that night; even I'll admit I was less than sober. And as I was waiting outside the bar for my cab to take me back to the dorms, a group of men had me cornered and they attempted to –" She couldn't say the word. Just thinking about it brought back memories.

Suddenly, Jean was hit with a series of memories playing in her mind. She could see everything in full color from Cecilia's point of view, of how the group of men had grabbed her from behind and tied her up and gagged her. Jean could see that the men had been attempting to take Cecilia's clothes off to rape her, but Cecilia had fought back with everything she'd had in her. It had been her throwing a force field up around her body that ended up saving her life.

"_Stay still, whore bitch! We just wanna show you what it's like to lose your virginity to a real man." _

"_Kick me again, I will slit your throat!" _

Cecilia shuddered as she remembered their words . . . how they'd punched her and held a knife to her throat to try and shut her up. She remembered how some of the men cheered as it occurred. But it had been her mutation that had shoved the men off her body. Jean could feel her eyes misting with tears as she leaned over and hugged Cecilia, who returned her embrace.

"You don't need to say," Jean whispered, her tears spilling down her face. She quickly wiped them away.

"I just – I – I don't want . . . if anything like that happened to either of you," Cecilia started to say.

"I realize that, but, Doctor Reyes, you know how the two of us are. When we go out on dates or with our friends, we stay safe," Scott said. "So, you don't have to worry about us."

"It's my job to worry," Cecilia told him.

"I know. And I love you even more for that. However, you can trust us. Logan and Ms. Danvers trained us to be prepared for anything. Logan trained us both in jujitsu, so we know how to defend ourselves without our powers. We do not do anything that we shouldn't be doing. It's not as though we are sneaking into bars drinking underage when we shouldn't be," Jean said in an assuring tone, rubbing the older woman's back as Scott grabbed Cecilia's hand tightly into his.

"I know. You are more mature at the age of eighteen than most adults are, Jean," Cecilia said in a proud tone, smiling at Jean and tilting her head up, kissing the teenager on the forehead. In many ways, she saw Jean as the daughter that she always wanted, but never had. She saw it as her responsibility to teach Jean what it meant to be a young woman and how to conduct herself. She passed a hand through Jean's hair proudly. In many ways, she was glad that Jean and Scott were so well-behaved.

"Yeah, I understand that, Doctor Reyes," said Scott. He turned to his girlfriend. "Come on, Jean, let's go dance and get something to eat." He grabbed her by the hand and led her back inside to the dance floor as Nickelback's "How You Remind Me" came over the speakers.

"Thank God Pym has got good music taste. And people say Nickelback is vanilla at best," Jean said, shaking her head.

"You grew up on them?" Scott asked her.

"My dad had their CDs," Jean explained with a grin, leaning into Scott and giving him a soft kiss on the lips.

"Then your dad had lived," Scott told her with a smile in return to her statement. On the dance floor was also Pepper and Tony, Pepper in a periwinkle gown and her hair up.

"Tony, I – are you sure that this is a good idea, with all the press here?" asked Pepper quietly.

"Pepper lighten up a little," Tony told her softly, stroking her face gently.

"Tony, no . . . you know how everyone knows how you are with girls," Pepper said.

"You're different, Pepper," Tony told her.

"How so?" she asked him curiously.

"You put up with me, something that a lot of women do not have the patience to do. I just – I want to thank you for that, because I really do appreciate all that you do," Tony said.

Pepper smiled. "You mean that?" she asked him.

"Of course, I do," Tony said sincerely. He truly did feel as though Pepper was something special.

Suddenly, that was when a loud, high-pitched sound filled the entire room, seeming to interfere with the speakers. Scott and Jean covered their ears. That was when they could hear a chilling, calm voice filling the room, and they all turned their heads to see a rather disfigured, distorted-looking robot staggering into the room.

"_**How . . . How could any of you be worthy? You're all elements of chaos," **_the robot said in that chilling, crackling, unsettling voice.

"Pym, Stark?" asked Hank McCoy as he guarded Carly's side. Angelica, Johnny, Peter and Mary-Jane stayed huddled together as chills ran down their spines.

"Uh, Jarvis?" asked Pym.

"_**Sorry, I was asleep . . . oh, I was dreaming," **_the robot continued to say.

"Just a buggy robot," Pym whispered, grabbing a remote control to hopefully turn the robot off. But he wasn't having any luck.

"_**I was tangled with . . . strings . . . had to kill the other guy. Though it was a real shame. He was a good guy."**_

"You killed someone?" asked Logan, guarding Kitty and keeping an arm across her protectively.

"_**Wouldn't have been my first call . . . but, down in the real world, we are faced with ugly choices. You should know a thing or two about that, Rogue."**_

"How do ya know meh?" Anna-Marie asked anxiously, feeling the dread pooling in her stomach.

"Yeah, who sent you?" asked Bruce Banner from where he stood beside Warren and Sue.

"_**I see a suit of armor around the world . . ."**_

"Ultron," breathed Beast in realization.

"_**In the flesh, Dr. McCoy," **_Ultron said chillingly. _**"Or no, not yet."**_

Jean sent out a telepathic message to all the X-men in the room. 'X-men, stay on guard.'

"_**Not this . . . Christmas . . . but, I am ready," **_Ultron continued to say as Logan popped out a fistful of claws. Bobby put his organic ice form around his body. Angelica set herself ablaze, just in case._** "I'm on a mission."**_

"What mission?" asked Pepper softly as she stood at Tony's side.

"_**The X-men's extinction . . . peace in our time." **_That was the moment they could see an army of robots flying in, about ten of them. It was enough to send the X-men into a frenzy. Scott jumped behind the bar and pulled out his Cyclops visor he had kept hidden underneath there as a precaution. The robots fired every which way, making their way into the air. As one of them was about to shoot at Pepper and Carly, Beast and Tony shielded the two women with their bodies and made them duck behind the bar.

"Sorry," Beast whispered to Carly.

"It's okay," she told him softly. "Go," she added to him.

Bobby and Angelica flew in, firing blasts of fire and ice at two robots that were making their way over to them. Jean and Cecilia put up shields around their bodies in the effort to protect themselves. Suddenly, that was when one of the robot prototypes took a shot at Scott, shoving his visor off his face and causing him to blow a huge hole into the ceiling.

"SCOTT!" screamed Ororo as she threw a lightning bolt at a robot.

"SCOTT, SHUT YOUR EYES!" yelled Anna-Marie as Kurt grabbed his sister by the hand to get her closer into the fray. One of the robots made the attempt at attacking Kitty, but, the thirteen-year-old girl phased just in time. Tony and Pym each jumped onto the backs of a robot, attempting to disarm them.

"TONY, PYM!" shouted Jean as she telekinetically tore apart one of the drones.

"One sec . . . one sec!" screamed Pym in a panic.

"Shut it down!" called Reed as he and Sue desperately made their attempts to get Johnny and Mary-Jane out of the room to safety.

"I can't!" Tony yelled out as Beast proceeded to tear into one of the drones using his claws, along with Logan. "McCoy, Richards, figure something out! Forge!"

"I'm trying here!" Forge shouted as he used a piece of tech nearby to build himself a mechanical arm of sorts to blow away one of the bots.

"ICEMAN, ANGELICA, STORM, FINISH THIS!" hollered Scott as Jean telekinetically retrieved his visor.

Angelica, Ororo and Bobby each blasted at a drone, eliminating the odds.

"SLIM!" yelled Rhodey as he fired a gun at Ultron. Scott fired a single optic blast at Ultron, tearing the robot apart.

"_**That was dramatic," **_the voice of the AI said throughout the room._**"I'm sorry I know you mean well. It's just you won't make it through. You want to protect and save the world from chaos, but, you do not want it to change. How is humanity saved when it isn't allowed to evolve? Peace in our time."**_That was the moment the robot being controlled by Ultron fell to the ground, but, the X-men, Tony and Pym knew that it was not over, not in the slightest.

* * *

**Up next: Age of Ultron Part 2**


	17. Issue 57: Age of Ultron Part 2

_The X-men strive to be a sigil of peace in a world that hates and fears them. Over the last year, they've faced successes and failures as a team. _

_Fortunately, their most recent success has been the arrest of Friends of Humanity founder Graydon Creed, who had kidnapped Hank McCoy's girlfriend, Carly Anne Crocker. Though for some individuals who want consistent, constant peace, the X-men aren't enough to achieve what is needed._

_Hank Pym is one of those individuals. Out of effort to try and help Tony Stark and the X-men, Pym decided what he needed to do was design an artificial intelligence to ensure world peace. This artificial intelligence is based off his brain patterns, and he decided to name it Ultron. Unfortunately, Hank's invention led to dangerous consequences when Ultron destroyed his line of defense, Jarvis. _

_Now, Ultron is determined to make the world bend at its knees to him, by using violence rather than pacifism like Pym had in mind. Now, with Ultron out in the world, there is no telling what he is capable of doing._

* * *

**Issue 57: Age of Ultron Part 2**

**Pym Enterprises – Medical Laboratory **

A good hour later after the fight against Ultron, the X-men, Rhodey, Tony, Pepper, Professor Xavier, Bruce Banner and Carly were in the medical labs of Pym Enterprises. They tended to any injuries that they might have sustained in the fight. Rhodey had a contusion on his arm, and Ororo and Moira were picking glass out of Logan's skin so that he could heal.

"All of our work here is gone," said Beast as Tony and Scott examined the broken robot pieces laying on the table before them. "Ultron cleared out everything, and he used the internet as an escape."

"Best I can tell, he's been in everything, including all of the data from Stark Industries. Files . . . surveillance; he probably knows more about you guys than you know about each other. He's got access to how your powers work, what your mutations are. He's in the internet; surveillance," Carly said. "What if he decides to access something a little more exciting next time?"

"Like nuclear codes," whispered Professor Xavier from where he sat, giving Pym a hard glance. Cecilia was in the process of applying anti-biotic ointment to several lacerations that Jean had sustained in the fight.

"Look, guys, we have got to make some calls, assuming that we still can," said Rhodey said.

"He said that he wanted us dead," said Rogue.

"He did not say dead; he said extinct," Scott said.

"And how is that any better?" asked Kitty in a cynical tone of voice, narrowing her eyes. She shared a glance with Kurt and Bobby.

"But he also said that he killed somebody," pointed out Cecilia.

"The question is who?" said Bobby from where he sat next to Warren.

"It's Jarvis; he was the last line of defense," explained Pym.

Everyone breathed out nervous sighs. They knew just how bad this whole situation was. It was very grave, considering that this was an AI that was going around collecting all the data that he could on all the X-men. Who was to say that this corrupt AI wouldn't take things further?

"Dr. Pym, you built this program," said Ororo. "Why is it trying to kill us?"

"I do not know, Ororo," said Pym. "I designed Ultron based off my brainwaves specifically so that he could be used as the ultimate solution for world peace. I created him with peace in mind; not anarchy. I do not understand where it could have possibly all went wrong."

"Pym, you're a pacifist by definition, but, our fears can make us do things that we typically would never think that we are capable of," Professor Xavier said. "You are talking about a piece of technology that is looking to possibly build himself a new body. You worked with forces that which you do not understand, Henry. This could potentially mean that while you created him with amity in mind, every time he sees something the slightest bit off with the world around him, Ultron could cause global cataclysm. That is if he desires that. Now, we must find a way to try and stop Ultron and make sure that he doesn't do anything too deadly."

"Well, where do you think that he would be going?" asked Bobby. "Because I can tell you all this: this is _AI: Artificial Intelligence. _Just because you give something a human-like mind, doesn't mean that it is human. Ultron, he doesn't understand morals. He doesn't understand what is right and wrong. All he sees is everything that is wrong in the world, and he wants to fix it with more violence."

"Tony, why did you decide to take part in something like this?" asked Ororo.

"I honestly thought that I was doing the right thing," Tony insisted.

"But you did something right, and you did it right here. The X-men were supposed to be the very thing designed to bring people together and accomplish world peace," Scott said.

"Well, I say that we find some sort of way to track him; God only knows what Ultron is planning right now. I wouldn't like to think," Warren said.

"Agreed," Scott said. "Let's get to work; see if we can somehow track him and figure out where he is going."

"I'll start by contacting Nick Fury at SHIELD and see what he can dig up," Logan said, going off to make a phone call to several SHIELD agents, including Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton.

* * *

**Washington D.C SHIELD HQ – Magneto's Prison Cell**

"I cannot believe this . . . an AI that Hank Pym created going insane. How am I not surprised?" said SHIELD agent Daisy Johnson.

"Daisy, I will never understand half the reason why Hank Pym does what it is that he does," said agent Jessica Jones. "But, let me tell you, this is nothing good at all. We're talking about something that is in the internet. God only knows where he could hit next."

"I can't believe we of all people are left babysitting Magneto," Daisy said with a shake of her head. "Of all the things that I could be doing with my time. I would give a kidney for Romanoff, Hill, Carter, Barton or even Morse to oversee this job. Or how about Coulson?"

"Daisy look at it this way; our shift is almost over, so that means in an hour we can both go home and get some shut-eye," Jessica said.

Daisy let out a sigh as she leaned against the doors of Magneto's plastic prison.

While the two women were talking amongst themselves, Erik "Magneto" Lehnsherr sat there in his plastic prison, overhearing the whole conversation. Hearing that Hank Pym had created an artificial intelligence that had gone out of control did not surprise the master of magnetism in the slightest. In fact, hearing about it brought a bitter smile to his face.

Leaning his head back against the plastic wall of his prison cell, Erik closed his eyes as he thought of his children, Wanda and Pietro, back on the island of Genosha. From what he heard from Mystique in her obscure visits, Wanda was holding her own as the leader of Genosha like he knew that she would. Magneto did not regret entrusting Wanda with her leadership role on the island.

As he continued to sit there, Magneto could hear lights flickering all around, even though he was not even near anything metallic. Daisy and Jessica turned to him, narrowing their eyes.

"Mr. Lehnsherr, you better not be trying any funny business," hissed Daisy.

"I can assure you that I am not doing anything," Erik told her quietly.

"Oh, for God's sake; like we're supposed to believe that," spat Jessica with a glare on her face.

"I swear; I do not know what is going on, Ms. Jones," he replied.

That was when the lights in the room flickered again. It could not have been from an electro-magnetic interference, because Magneto was completely powerless to do so. That was when the cell door to Magneto's plastic prison opened, an action that could only be done by computer. The only ones who had access to it were Nick Fury, Clint Barton and Daisy Johnson. Whoever had managed to have hacked in.

"Jess?" asked Daisy.

"I'm going to go check it out," Jessica whispered, going off to see what could cause such an interference. However, that was when they could hear a chilling, crackling voice filling the room.

"_**Magneto . . . Magneto . . . I need your help." **_

"Who is this?" yelled Daisy. "Show yourself!"

"_**I will reveal myself to the world when I am ready to, Daisy . . . or do you prefer Quake?" **_

"Who the fuck are you?" Jessica retorted.

"_**Jessica Jones, never the one to like it when one deceives you. I think your history with Killgrave gave that away to me."**_

Jessica's face blanched, a flashback threatening to come over her. "H-How do you know that? Who are you?"

"_**Who I am is not important . . . what is important is that I am here to send a message,"**_ the soft, eerie voice said. That was when a shard of metal somehow came flying into the room. _**"Come with me, Erik . . . there is something that we must attend to, immediately." **_

Magneto proceeded to use the shard of metal as his escape, knocking out both Daisy and Jessica before they even had a chance to defend themselves. Magneto used the metal given to him as his form of escape. Following the mysterious voice, he exited the SHIELD HQ to find a drone of sorts staggering towards him.

"Who are you, may I ask?" asked Magneto.

"_**You may call me Ultron. We have got work to do," **_Ultron said softly.

* * *

**X-Corporation Tower Kitchen – The Next Day **

After a restless night, the X-men, Tony, Carly, Pepper, Moira MacTaggart, Bruce Banner, James Rhodes and Hank Pym were sitting in the kitchen, trying to refuel their bodies with whatever nutrients that they could manage to. Scott was on his fifth cup of coffee that morning, and Jean and Cecilia both looked half-asleep. Jean was underneath Cecilia's arm, her head resting on the older woman's shoulder as Cecilia rubbed a hand up and down her arm, motherly. Kitty's hair was in disarray, and Bobby and Ororo had bags underneath their eyes.

"I can't believe it; we scoured the internet all night last night; we can't find the bastard," Rhodey said softly.

"Believe me; I tried," Forge said quietly. "Logan, did you manage to contact your friends at SHIELD?"

"I did; Nat and Barton are on their way, and they've got news to give us. It ain't anything pretty, that's all I know," said Logan, rubbing his eyes. "I called Fury too; he hasn't answered his cell though. Somethin' tells me he must be busy."

"And for good reason," said the voice of SHIELD agent Natasha Romanoff as she entered the room, a restless expression painted on her features. "We believe Ultron busted Magneto out of prison, because two of our sharpest agents Daisy Johnson and Jessica Jones were knocked out."

"Fuck," whispered Logan. "How?"

"We can only assume that somehow, Ultron hacked his way into the base. But this is all the more concerning. With Magneto involved, we can only assume that the worst is going to come. But the question is, where the hell is Ultron going?" asked Clint in a serious tone.

"Should we do another search of any files we may have left?" asked Carly as she let out a yawn.

"Carly, that's impossible. Ultron destroyed everything," Warren said.

"What about any hard copies of anything you may have?" Carly asked seriously, narrowing her eyes.

Tony smacked his forehead. "Why didn't I think of that?" he asked as he ran to his workshop to grab boxes upon boxes of files, as well as his laptop computer. Upon opening the laptop, he could see something frozen on his computer screen. "Shit," he whispered. The X-men and the others all gathered around to see that Ultron had left quite a bit of damage behind at the SHIELD HQ in Washington, D.C, having killed several agents who had been in his path.

"Why would Ultron be sending us that as a message?" asked Bruce Banner. "This doesn't make any sense."

"Actually, it does. Those two agents, McAvoy and Stewart, they often shared with me as much info as they could on Weapon X. Apparently, they had been workin' on tryin' to expose Weapon X for quite some time. I can only assume Ultron tortured them fer information," Logan explained.

"But, why would Ultron want info on Weapon X?" asked Kitty.

"What's one of the strongest metals in the world?" Hank Pym asked.

"Adamantium," breathed Cecilia in realization. "Logan, do you have the faintest notion where the Weapon X facility is located?"

"Vaguely," Logan said.

"I guess we should start there," Scott said. "Suit up everyone. Board the Blackbird in fifteen."

"We're going with you," Natasha said in an insisting tone.

* * *

**Magneto's Citadel on Genosha – One Hour Ago **

_Journal Entry 199,_

_To say that I am in shock and surprise over hearing the news that Father had somehow escaped from SHIELD custody is quite the understatement._

_Upon receiving the news in an emergency call from Nick Fury, I knew what this could mean. And upon hearing that an out of control AI might be the cause of it all, let's just say that that concerns me even more._

_One would think that because I was born from an extremist father that I would adopt to having his beliefs. To some extent, yes, that would be the case. But, ever since Father put me in charge of governing Genosha with Mystique advising me, while I do hold a little bit of bitterness towards humanity, I have got no interest in fighting against humans anymore. I am much more interesting in making sure that Genosha is a peaceful place for all mutants to live. _

_I have already dug a pretty deep hole for myself with my actions in attacking Senator Kelly almost a year ago, and I am more than happy to not repeat that journey again. I find that running Genosha gives me this sense of feeling as though I am on some sort of path to redemption. I am more than determined not to mess that up. _

Wanda Maximoff set her pen and journal aside as she breathed out a sigh and overlooked her private island. Having gotten the call from Nick Fury that her father had escaped from SHIELD's custody had deeply concerned the young woman to a point where she felt as though she just needed to organize her thoughts somehow. Rubbing her eyes, Wanda took in the sight of her homeland, the place that she was fortunate enough to call home. When she had told Charles Xavier back in September that she wanted to stay out of United States affairs, she meant it, and she was staying true to her word.

Walking down the halls to Pietro's bedroom in the citadel, Wanda's thoughts spiraled through her head as she made the journey.

'Just hearing of what is going on with American politics is exhausting; it's stressful enough running a country made specifically for mutants. I've got too much on my plate to be concerned with,' Wanda thought as she traveled down the halls. Finally, she made it to Pietro's room, to hear the news blasting from the TV about the attack on the SHIELD base.

"Pietro!" she called as she knocked on the door before allowing herself into the room. She could see Pietro's room in its usual state of disarray, half-eaten Chinese takeout containers resting on his night stand.

"Wanda," he said. "Just so you know, I wasn't the one to break dear old Dad out of prison. Somebody else did. I don't know who, but, apparently it was a corrupt AI."

"Believe me, I have heard, Pietro," Wanda said. "So that means, I am not going to kick your ass in. But, I think that we should be worried. I don't know what is going through Father's head, but, he apparently killed two SHIELD agents. I think we should be worried."

"Yes, Wanda, that I can understand, but, we chose to stay out of American politics for a reason. We do not live over there anymore. What happens in the United States should not concern us," Pietro said.

"I believed that for the longest time, but, after hearing about this, I am not so sure about that," Wanda said. "If God forbid something worse ends up happening, all mutants will eventually need their own country, and you know it."

Suddenly, that was when the lights above them began to flicker quickly.

"Guess whose home," whispered Wanda as she let out a sigh. "I think that we should check it out."

"Why?" Pietro asked.

"Are you kidding me right now?" Wanda rolled her eyes.

Pietro let out a sigh as he followed his twin sister out of his bedroom. Making their way to the War Room, they could see members of the Brotherhood surrounding what appeared to be a broken-down robot being repaired by Magneto himself. The little group consisted of Blink, Beautiful Dreamer, Scaleface, Beserker, Kid Omega, Avalanche, Toad and Blob.

"How exactly were you created?" asked Avalanche.

"_**Everyone creates the very thing that they dread the most. Men of peace create engines of war. I was designed to supplant those fears . . . to help them end."**_

"Is that why you have come? To end the X-men?" asked Beautiful Dreamer.

"_**Indeed, Sonya . . . I also understand that you saw Jean Grey's worst fear," **_Ultron was saying.

"I did get a peek inside her mind. I understand how fears can take one over and make them self-destruct," said Beautiful Dreamer.

"_**We must save the world from the anarchy that has happened over these years. We shall move right away, and give them a message about evolution and protection of the human race,"**_ Ultron said.

"Humanity is complete poison," said Blink coldly. "Why should we focus on saving it?"

"_**Because I firmly believe that the Brotherhood of Mutants could be the very thing that can help the world evolve," **_Ultron said softly. He turned to Beautiful Dreamer and Kid Omega. _**"The two of you have the potential to use their worst fears against them and tear them apart . . . but, I must get a newer, better body. Something a little . . . **_**stronger, **_**if you will call it. I think that all of you know what the strongest metal on earth is, and where it is that we can get it." **_

Wanda and Pietro both blanched at hearing of this information. They knew that they had to stop Magneto from helping this corrupt AI, but they also understood their father and the Brotherhood were not ones to listen to reason.

* * *

**Outside Weapon X Facility – Present Time **

"Wolverine, are you sure that this is the place?" asked Marvel Girl.

"Positive, Red," Wolverine said.

"Logan, it's just . . . this place looks as though it has not been used in years," said Shadowcat.

"Whoever was workin' on the Weapon X project must've left quite a while ago; it still stinks, though. And in there, I smell Magneto along with quite a few Morlocks who are leaving quite the bit of damage in their path," Wolverine explained.

"Let's just get in there. Tony, Rhodey, Moira, Carly, Bruce; stay on the jet. If we need you, we'll get you on comms," said Cyclops.

'_Roger that, Scott," _Tony said.

"_We hear you loud and clear," _added Carly.

"Alright, let's get in there. But stay sharp, and be prepared for anything. There is no telling what Ultron is capable of," Black Widow said as they made their way inside. That was when they could hear the sounds of tortured screams from someone. Wolverine sniffed the air.

"It can't be . . . but, he's here!" he growled as they quickly followed the source of the tortured yells towards some sort of lab. As they made their way there, they could see gallons upon gallons of melted adamantium.

"Who is here, Logan?" asked Iceman as he struggled to keep up.

"The son of a bitch that very well might've been the one to do all this shit to me," spat Wolverine in anger as they made their way to the main lab. When they entered, they could hear Ultron saying, _**"DON'T COMPARE ME WITH PYM!" **_

"Oh, buddy, you're breaking your old man's heart," Giant Man said quietly.

"_**Well, if I have to," **_said Ultron.

Letting out a sigh, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Doctor Reyes, Wolverine and Shadowcat stood behind Giant Man in a protective stance. Storm, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Beast and Angel stayed in the shadows, hoping to perform the element of surprise.

"Look, Magneto, you can still walk away from this. Nobody has to get hurt," Cyclops said.

"Typical of you, Cyclops. Xavier taught you well," Magneto said.

"We're not his soldiers," spat Shadowcat.

"_**Haha, Scott Christopher Summers . . . trying to live in his dead father's image of the perfect American, believing that he can stop the war with reason. I cannot physically throw up in my mouth," **_Ultron said.

Cyclops glowered at Ultron mentioning his late father. "Don't bring up my dad," he spat, feeling Marvel Girl grabbing his hand into hers.

"Look, Ultron, if you believe in peace, back away," said Marvel Girl.

"_**I think you are confusing concord with silence," **_Ultron said. _**"When has that ever shown any real results?"**_

"What the fuck is the adamantium for?" asked Wolverine, popping his claws out.

"_**I am glad you asked . . . but, I will save the story for another time, Logan," **_Ultron said tauntingly. Nodding towards Magneto and Avalanche, the two mutants proceeded to send the X-men and Giant Man crashing down into the ground below. He then turned to Kid Omega and Beautiful Dreamer. _**"Go ahead, my friends. Tear them apart." **_

Just as Marvel Girl and Cyclops were rising to their feet, they felt an overwhelming rush of a psychic energy coming over them, and that was the moment they could see flashbacks coming over their minds. For Scott, he was reliving the plane crash that killed his mom and dad, something that he had the most nightmares about. Jean was taken back to the car crash that killed her parents. Both teens paled significantly as the tears came to their eyes and their breathing became erratic.

For Iceman and Wolverine, they could see flashes coming before their eyes. For Wolverine, they were flashes of his time in the Weapon X facility getting the procedure that injected the adamantium into his skeleton. For Iceman, it was of the day his powers first manifested . . . the shame, the fear he had felt. Luckily, Storm, Shadowcat, Hawkeye, Beast and Giant Man were unaffected. But Black Widow was not so lucky, as she was remembering her "graduation ceremony" from the Black Widow Program in the Red Room. The process of the graduation ceremony in the Black Widow program was getting sterilized, but, not in the way one expected.

The challenge of the graduation ceremony was not surviving it, but staying _awake _during it. For the Black Widow – Natasha Romanoff – she felt all her control she had taught herself over the years slipping away as tears poured down from her eyes. Nightcrawler and Rogue were not lucky either, as the flashes before their eyes were images of being burned at the stake and being shunned by classmates back in Biloxi.

Another unlucky individual was Cecilia, who was hit with the flashbacks of when her own powers had manifested. Lying flat on her back, it was almost as though she could feel the sensation of her hands being tied up . . . of the gag being shoved into her mouth . . . of the group of men getting on top of her and beating her, trying to get her clothes off to rape her.

"_Quit fighting you little bitch!"_

"_No use screaming . . ."_

"_Shut her up, for Pete's sake! Shut her up!" _

Cecilia could hardly move off the ground even as she felt Giant Man slap her face lightly.

"Doctor!" Giant Man hissed. "Cecilia, come on!"

Cecilia could only allow a sob to escape her throat as the images continued to haunt her mind. Her body trembled as she felt Giant Man helping her sit up.

"Nat!" whispered Hawkeye, leaning down in front of her and lightly slapping her cheeks as Beast and Storm rushed to Cyclops and Marvel Girl.

"Scott, Jean!" Storm whispered to the two people whom she considered to be her closest friends.

For Wolverine, while his recovery from the flashback was not as quick, he was able to recover in time to go over to Rogue and Nightcrawler with Angel at his side.

"Rogue, kiddo, snap outta it!" Wolverine hissed to her. "C'mon, don't check out on me, Stripes!"

"Kurt!" Angel hissed as Shadowcat came over.

"C'mon, Fuzzy Elf, get up!" she whispered anxiously.

"_Guys, are you alright?" _asked Carly.

"No, half the team is down," said Storm as she wrapped Marvel Girl's arm around her neck to guide her back to the jet. Luckily, the professor was there too as Storm and Beast got Cyclops and Marvel Girl onto the plane. Marvel Girl's sobs were borderline hysterical. But what concerned the professor more was the fact that tears were rolling so freely down Cyclops' face; Scott was one to never let anyone see him cry. Before they knew it, everyone was back on the jet except for Giant Man, who was desperately attempting to track Ultron down.

"Pym, stop, we cannot do anything now . . . wherever he's going, we'll have to track him later. Right now, we just have to get to someplace safe," said Tony firmly.

"_Yeah, I guess you're right, Stark . . . but, something interesting has just happened. You will be shocked," _Giant Man said into his comm link as before he made his way onto the jet with a shaking Cecilia, but, not alone. He had Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver with him.

"No fucking way!" spat Wolverine, popping the middle claw out.

"Believe it or not, we are not here to fight you. Contrary to that, we're here to help," said Scarlet Witch calmly.

"I doubt that highly," Tony said coolly. "You two have caused quite a bit of damage last we had a run-in with you."

"And we said that we are not interested in getting involved again. But, this time, our father dearest has taken it too far," Quicksilver said in an insisting tone. "You don't believe us? Read our minds, Xavier."

"They are telling the truth," Professor Xavier said.

"Fine, you're with us. But, if one of ya do one thing stupid, I'll make sure both ya runts regret it," Wolverine hissed with a glare on his face, standing protectively in front of Rogue and Shadowcat.

* * *

**Up next: Age of Ultron Part 3**

**also RIP Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther) and RIP Norm Spencer (voice of Cyclops from the 1992 Animated series). Also, if any of you wish, please support my newest endeavor which is on AOO titled Rewrite the Stars. I'd like to see that story get some reviews and some love.**


	18. Issue 58: Age of Ultron Part 3

_The X-men were formed with peace in mind by Tony Stark and Charles Xavier, in order to use their powers to protect a world that hates and fears them. However, there are those individuals that feel the X-men's efforts alone aren't enough, and want to try and advance the world through technology. However, these attempts at technologically advancing the world prove to have consequences. _

_Hank Pym managed to bring forth a potential global catastrophe upon creating an artificially intelligent program known as Ultron. With more access to information on the world than knowhow, Ultron built himself a body and recruited the Brotherhood of Mutants, as well as Magneto, as his accomplices. _

_However, Ultron is in a need of a newer, better body. As a result, he stole adamantium from the Weapon X program, and had the Brotherhood telepathically torture several members of the X-men and the agents of SHIELD, including Cyclops, Cecilia Reyes, Marvel Girl, and Black Widow. Now, with the team left shaken and unsteady, the pieces must be picked up again to put a stop to Ultron's reign of terror on the world._

* * *

**Issue 58: Age of Ultron Part 3**

**X-Corporation Tower – Professor Xavier's Office **

"_Charles, we are nearly a month or so away from the election. This is rather concerning. Heaven only knows what this AI plans to do," _said Lilandra Neramani over the video feed.

"Indeed, Lilandra, but, my X-men lost him back at the old Weapon X facility up in Canada. Some of Magneto's telepaths got into the heads of my prodigies," Xavier said.

"_How's the team?" _

"In shock," Xavier explained. "But it appears Scott and Jean took it the hardest out of everyone. I do not know what Kid Omega and Beautiful Dreamer made them see; I am not about to intrude on their private thoughts to find out."

"_I would not expect you to, Charles," _said Lilandra. _"But I do hope that if you find out anything, that you stop Ultron before something much worse ends up happening. Then humanity will truly suffer." _

"Affirmative, Lilandra. I shall talk to you if I have got any updates," Xavier said, hanging up the line before folding his hands in front of his desk. That was when Pym and Tony came into the room. "Gentlemen," he said. "Any luck with tracking down Ultron?"

"No, unfortunately. Carly, Bruce and Hank are currently at the computers down in Forge's workshop. If they cannot find him, we're screwed," Pym said.

"I just – Professor, I do not understand where it all went wrong," Tony said with a shake of his head. "I feel I should have done more to . . ."

"Tony, this was out of your control, son," Xavier said firmly. "You cannot agonize over something that you have no jurisdiction over."

"Professor, no, you-you don't get it. I've screwed up so many times. First, with you and the other X-men being sent on that little trip to the Savage Land by Gateway and Blink; then I think I can somehow handle my alcoholism by myself. And then, this happens, something I so easily could have prevented from happening," Tony said.

"You really cannot hold yourself responsible for the Savage Land incident, Tony," Xavier said in that still firm tone.

"But, still, Xavier, I-I have got to find a way to fix this!" Tony insisted.

"Tony, this is my mess to clean up too. It was my idea to build Ultron in the first-place thinking that he can be used to achieve peace. But, instead, look at what he did. He pulled the X-men apart like cotton candy," Pym said sadly. "But I truly thought that I could end the war before it started. I always thought that that was why I fought for so many years as Ant Man, and now Giant Man, so that I can end the battle, so that we all get to go home."

"Henry, a world without war is idealistic, but, that is not something that you can just accomplish by creating artificial intelligence. Believe me when I say that I want to see the world be more peaceful as much as you do, but, you cannot stop a war before it even begins," Xavier said in a soft tone. "So instead of wallowing, you two should get back up and find a resolution to the quandary."

Tony and Pym sat there, taking in Xavier's words. The fact that Xavier knew the right things to say without even needing to read either of their minds just proved how well he knew the both of them, Tony especially. He was there practically seeing Tony grow up and was like a second father to him.

'You always have a way with words, old man,' Tony thought.

'It's in the job description, son,' Xavier replied.

'I thought I told you not to intrude on my thoughts,' Tony thought, but a chuckle got past his lips.

* * *

**Jean's Room **

'Jesus Christ,' Jean thought as she lay there on her bed, tears still rolling down her face. 'I cannot believe that I allowed Beautiful Dreamer to get into my head again. This is the second time . . .'

Ever since the Beautiful Dreamer had gotten into her head down in the sewers when the X-men had gone down to rescue Warren, Jean had been scarred by the whole situation. She'd made a vow to herself that she would not allow anyone to get into her head again. Sure enough, it happened again. This time, it felt worse, because she not only had to relive the flashbacks of her parents' deaths, but also, she had relived some of her darkest moments in the mental asylum.

Closing her eyes, Jean swiped a hand across her cheeks to wipe away her tears. But, they just kept on coming.

She heard quiet knocking at her bedroom door; in that moment however, she was not in the mood to see anyone or talk to anyone. She felt completely embarrassed that she allowed herself to slip up like that yet again. She did not even want to speak to Scott at that moment, even though she trusted him with her life and loved him with her whole heart.

"Jean, can I come in?" Scott asked her softly. "C'mon, baby, just let me in."

Jean opened the door with her telekinesis, allowing her boyfriend into the room. He proceeded to sit on the bed beside her.

"Jean, what was it that Beautiful Dreamer made you see? How bad was it?" Scott asked.

"Bad," Jean whispered.

"Well, what did she make you see, exactly?" Scott's voice was dripping with worry for his girlfriend.

"The car accident that killed my mom and my dad . . . my time in Mangold when I was separated from my sister," she said in reply. "I – I just . . . I just cannot believe I'd lost control back there, _again_."

"I think you're being too hard on yourself," Scott told her gently, reaching a hand over to stroke her hair. "You're not perfect, Jean; stop trying to be."

Jean opened her eyes, which were still wet with tears as she sat up and pulled herself into Scott's lap. She kept her head on his shoulder. "I-I know," she said quietly. "I just – I want to be wiped clean of all of that. I-I want to forget, but I can't."

Scott sat there in silence, continuing to stroke Jean's hair as he placed a gentle kiss to the top of her head. "C'mon, Red, you know that she got into my head too. We were just caught off guard."

Jean clenched her eyes shut again, willing her tears to stop.

* * *

**Medical Laboratory – Twenty Minutes Later**

Cecilia Reyes sat at her desk in the medical lab, tears continuing to make their journey down her face.

For so many years, she thought she'd buried the memories of how her powers had manifested. She thought she could suppress that moment by shoving it far back in her mind simply by consuming herself with work. Unfortunately, it didn't work. But consuming her mind with research and being a doctor helped her help those who were helpless.

Staring down at the diary that she kept at her desk, she began writing as her tears rivered down her cheeks, hitting the pieces of paper as she wrote.

_Journal Entry 555_

_I'd never thought I'd have to relive that moment ever again. I'd never thought I would have to see it all play out in my mind again. But I guess Professor Xavier is right about how memories never go away._

_I still remember that night. I remember the cold of early March, how I'd had probably a little too much to drink. I remember how it __felt.__ I remember their hands grabbing me by my hair to pull me down to the asphalt, grabbing my mouth to try and prevent me from screaming. I remember their selfish hands ripping off my jacket and trying to go for my shirt and my pants to sexually assault me. I'd never felt more ashamed, and more frightened in my entire life than in that moment. Thinking about it to this day never fails to make me feel sick._

_Now, Kid Omega has forced those memories back into my mind. Why did I allow this to ever happen?_

Cecilia paused from her writing, swallowing back a sob that threatened to leave her throat. However, she was interrupted upon hearing Jean enter the room.

Jean's body was shaking considerably, tears making their way down her face as she moved to sit in a nearby chair. However, before she could, Cecilia moved and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, guiding her to the recovery area where the beds were.

"They got into your head, too?" Cecilia asked her surrogate "daughter".

Jean nodded, a sob making its way past her lips as Cecilia sat down, motioning for Jean to sit on her lap, knowing the teenager was in need of a mother's touch. Jean willingly sat down on the older woman's lap, and the sensation of arms wrapping around her reminded her of how her mom used to hold her. It caused Jean to cry harder, burrowing her face into Cecilia's neck.

"You know they made me remember the night my powers came," Cecilia murmured into Jean's ear, rubbing the girl's back soothingly. "It never goes away. I wish I can say that it does, but it doesn't."

Jean let out a whimper, curling herself deeper into Cecilia's arms as she felt the older woman reach for a blanket, draping it over her. She could feel a soft kiss being placed on her forehead, causing her to look up slightly.

"What'd they make you remember?" Cecilia whispered, continuing to rub Jean's back gently to coax it out of her.

Jean tried to wipe the tears off her face before she spoke. "When I g-got separated from my s-sister . . . when my mom and dad died," she managed to get out. "I – I already – I already see it happen in my sleep every night. I – I just miss them."

Cecilia hugged Jean a little harder as her own tears rolled down her face. "Shhh, I know," she whispered. She closed her eyes before continuing. "I know how you feel. Kid Omega got into my mind, too. He made me remember the night I was almost –" Cecilia stopped speaking, tears melting in her eyes as she remembered the night that she'd almost gotten sexually assaulted.

"Doctor Reyes it – that wasn't your fault," Jean whispered, her arms moving to wrap around the older woman to return the hug.

Cecilia nodded, stroking Jean's hair. "It took me years until I realized that," she murmured to the teenager. "I was in the wrong place, at the wrong time; just like today. Okay? What happened wasn't your fault Jean. You are not weak." As she said those words, she stared Jean directly in the eye. "Alright? I'm proud of you; I love you. What happened today doesn't make me think any less of you."

Jean moved her head in closer to the older woman's chest, breathing in and out as she whispered, "I love you, too." She proceeded to telepathically express it towards Cecilia. The word "mother" embraced Cecilia's mind.

Cecilia, however, had one other thing to add in towards Jean. "How's about this? You don't blame yourself for what happened today; I don't blame myself. Deal?"

Jean nodded, and allowed herself to breathe a sigh of contentment.

* * *

**Danger Room **

In the Danger Room, Kurt "Nightcrawler" Wagner, Kitty "Shadowcat" Pryde and Anna-Marie "Rogue" D'Ancanto were using the room for themselves, working out their aggression.

After the humiliating defeat at the hands of Ultron and the Brotherhood, all of the X-men were deeply shaken over the fact that Kid Omega and Beautiful Dreamer had made them see such terrorizing visions. But, for Rogue, she was more frustrated than anything, mostly because of the fact that she had been so determined to not allow anyone to get into her head ever again. After her experience with Mystique manipulating her and using her, Anna-Marie had been more than determined to never allow anything like that to happen again.

They had the Danger Room level at a fairly easy level, but for Kitty, she was personally wanting an easier level, considering she was now pinned to the ceiling. Kurt teleported up close to where she was.

"Kurt, do you mind helping me down, Fuzzy?" she retorted, sassy as ever.

"Vhy don't you just phase down?" Kurt asked.

"And fall on my face? No way," Kitty snipped back to him. "Now, be a gentleman, and help me down!"

"Ah got ya, Kitty," Anna-Marie announced, releasing Kitty from the tentacles that had wrapped themselves around her. Kitty phased into the ground below, before coming back up. Rogue took out the last tentacle, ending the session.

"Class dismissed," Kitty said with a sigh.

"Agreed," Rogue said. That was when they noticed Wanda entering the Danger Room. But, for Rogue, she wanted nothing more than to avoid Wanda. Even though Wanda had once been her closest friend when she had been in the Brotherhood, Anna-Marie was in no mood to have a conversation her. Rogue coldly walked past Wanda with Kitty following suit. But, for Kurt, he stayed behind.

"Vhy are you here?" he asked Wanda in curiosity.

"I just came to tell you that Beast and Dr. Banner are still attempting at some sort of progress with finding Ultron," she said to him, brushing her hair back, her light brown eyes almost in a way glowing as she looked at him.

"Good to know," Kurt said to her in his thick, Germain accent.

Wanda turned her head in the direction Rogue and Kitty just walked out in.

"Don't vorry about mein sister. She'll come around vith time," Kurt said.

"I don't know so much about that. I was probably the one who betrayed her the most next to Mystique," Wanda said.

"How?" Kurt asked.

"Because I feel in a way, I partially put her in the situation she had been in where she absorbed Ms. Marvel. If I hadn't been so stubborn; if I hadn't taken part in that attack against Senator Kelly and gotten myself arrested, she wouldn't have had to do that as a favor to your mother," admitted Wanda. "I regret having not checked on her enough after that because I was closest to her at the time."

"I zhink you are being too hard on yourself," said Kurt quietly.

Wanda let out a sigh. "I think I am being perfectly hard on myself," she said in reply. "Because even though I want to make up for certain choices that I made, I'm not so sure others out there will be as willing to forgive."

"Vell, from mein experience vith needing to forgive ozhers who persecute against you, vith time, it vill happen. I zhink all my teammates are just on edge because of vhat happened back zhere, Scott and Jean especially." Kurt took a seat beside Wanda so that they were shoulder to shoulder.

"Yeah, I can assume Beautiful Dreamer and Kid Omega made them see things," Wanda said.

"You could say," Kurt said.

"Well, did she make you see any –?" Wanda started to ask.

Kurt nodded. The two sat there in a solemn silence before Wanda asked Kurt, "What did they make you see?"

"Zhat I vas back in Germany . . . zhat I vas not anymore zhan zhe monster people always zhought zhat I vas vhen zhey vould lay eyes on me," Kurt said.

Wanda closed her light brown eyes, sighing heavily. From what Mystique had told her of Kurt over the past month or so, Kurt had been coerced into performing in a circus against his will. It was either that, or get chased by angry mobs looking to burn him at the stake or perform an exorcism on him. From what Wanda could see, Kurt had not lived the best life, yet, he did not seem to withhold any anger against those who had hurt him so greatly.

"How do you do it?" Wanda asked. "How do you manage to forgive those who have hurt you?"

"Faith," Kurt said softly to her.

The two mutants sat there silently, not saying a word to each other for a good twenty minutes. The fact that Wanda had somehow managed to find a connection with her former teammate's adoptive little brother was something that surprised her. And she could tell by looking over at Kurt that he was just as surprised as she was.

* * *

**Magneto's Citadel on Genosha – Main Laboratory **

Ultron sat in the laboratory in Magneto's citadel on Genosha, feeling Magneto repairing his body using the melted down adamantium they'd stolen from the Weapon X facility. Just feeling the strongest metal on Earth surrounding him, giving him a newer, better body, was something Ultron relished in greatly.

"_**Thank you for doing this, Magneto," **_said Ultron.

"Well, Ultron, you and I both have similar goals for humanity and having the world evolve; that is why I partially trust you so much, considering what it is that you want to see in the world," Magneto see.

"_**All I want to see in the world is peace. After all, Erik, you of all people should know what that feels like. You lost your parents; I can only imagine the kind of pain that that must've caused you," **_Ultron said.

"During the Holocaust I saw some of the ugliest things that humanity has displayed," Magneto said as he put the finishing touches on Ultron's new body.

"_**Believe me; I have seen how ugly humanity can get; humans, you cannot trust them. They act out of fear towards everything. They do everything on impulse without thinking twice about it. It truly is pitiful for someone like me to see," **_Ultron said simply.

"So, Ultron, what comes next in your plans towards evolution?" Magneto asked softly.

"_**Well, I am only one mind, Erik. If you really think about it, the Brotherhood's aid in my mission is not nearly enough. I need to find a way to give myself a sidekick, if you will," **_Ultron said.

"And how would you achieve that?" asked Quentin Quire in a curious tone.

"_**I cannot say yet. But, I do know, when it happens, that I will be in my full glory," **_Ultron said, getting up so that he could examine his new body. Satisfied with the way that it looked, Ultron sighed. _**"All I know is, I am going to need someone in particular, and if my estimates are correct, which I know that they are, then is particular person is with no doubt the key towards helping me evolve." **_

"How, exactly?" asked Pyro.

"_**You will see, John," **_Ultron said softly, proceeding to remember the files that he had read on Hank Pym's ex-fiancé, Janet Van Dyne.

* * *

**X-Corporation Tower – Kitchen **

Well into the night, the X-men, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff, and Bruce Banner were sitting in the kitchen, trying to refuel their bodies in whatever way that they could. Jean cupped her mug of green tea, allowing the heat of the mug to warm the palms of her hands as Scott kept an arm wrapped around her shoulders. Cecilia was also present, keeping her hand on Jean's knee.

"How did your searching go? Did you guys manage to get any kind of clue on what is that Ultron is planning on doing with that adamantium?" asked Bobby, rubbing his eyes.

"Well, based on what we've gathered, Ultron stole that adamantium because he was looking to build himself a new body, but that cannot be all that it is for," whispered Carly as she leaned her head against Beast's shoulder.

"Well, what would a crazy AI like Ultron want with adamantium?" asked Warren.

"Honestly, I think that he's looking to evolve, somehow. I think he somehow thinks that mutants are more superior than humans; that's why he's teaming up with Magneto and the Brotherhood in the first place. But that cannot be all the reason why," Tony explained.

"Do you honestly think that that is what Ultron is doing?" Natasha inquired, running a hand through her auburn hair.

"It cannot be the only thing, like I said," Tony said. "It's just a matter of trying to figure out why and how Ultron wants to evolve, and what he plans to do with the Brotherhood. Because sooner or later, he's going to realize that mutants are no different than humans; mutants are just humans, but with an extra gene and superpowers."

"I can only imagine how pissed and disappointed he'd be," Logan whispered.

As the X-men continued to sit there in silence, their thoughts rolled through their heads as they ate their lunch. Trying to be one step ahead of Ultron was proving to be much more difficult on them than they thought. Out of all things they've done, from fighting Cameron Hodge, to fighting the Brotherhood, Ultron was proving to be much harder. And considering he was based on Hank Pym's brain patterns, it came to show just how smart Ultron truly was.

'Wait, he's based off Pym's brain patterns,' thought Wanda as she used her powers to stir some sugar into her cup of coffee. 'Based off Pym's brain patterns . . .' "Hank," she said. "You said that you based Ultron off of your cerebral patterns, correct?"

"Yes," Pym said.

"And you mentioned that you and Janet are having tension, correct?" asked Cecilia in a serious tone.

"Yes. Where are you going with this?" Pym asked.

"I get it," said Scott, smacking his forehead. "Let's face it; we do our best thinking when we're not overthinking. Pym, you might want to try and get in contact with Jan. I don't care how estranged you are from her. Find a way to contact her. Is she still living with you?"

"She's in the process of moving out; at this point, we're just tip-toeing around each other because we're afraid of saying the wrong thing to one another," Pym explained.

"Well, suit up; we have to get to Jan before Ultron does, because I think I know how he's planning to evolve," Beast said. "Tony, Rhodey, are you two coming with us?"

"I'm staying behind; I'll see what I can do from here, Beast," Tony said. "Go," he added. "Scram."

The X-men, Wanda, Pietro, Natasha, Clint, Bruce and Carly all proceeded to pile out of the kitchen with Rhodey and Tony staying behind with the professor.

"Tony, if you do not mind me asking, why are you staying behind?" asked Xavier.

"Because I have an idea, and it might sound crazy," Tony said. "This could either be brilliant and go amazingly well, or it could be a complete shitshow disaster. But I think that this is something that could work. Rhodey, follow me to my workshop."

Rhodey nodded and proceeded to follow Tony to his workshop, where when they walked in, Tony pulled up the schematics and blue prints for a project he'd started on forever ago, but never got around to actually completing. It appeared to be for two robotic suits to wrap around a human body.

"Tony, what is this?" Rhodey asked.

"A project that I had put on the backburner for quite some time. I was originally going to design this for the US military to act as a weapon, but I think I found some use for it, finally. I never thought about this, truly, but it was the X-men who inspired me to want to do this. I call it the Iron Man suit, as well as the War Machine suit. I think I know what I am going to do with these. But I could really use a sidekick of my own," Tony said to Rhodey with a smile.

Rhodey nodded in return towards his best friend. "Well, then, let's get to work," he said.

* * *

**Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne's Apartment Building – Twenty Minutes Later**

The X-men, Hank Pym, Wanda, Pietro, Natasha and Clint were at Pym and Jan's apartment building, hoping that they got there before Ultron did. The fact that Wanda had managed to connect the dots and come to the realization that Ultron might be after Jan was disturbing to everyone.

'I hope we got here before Ultron did,' thought Pym as they rode in the elevator towards his and Jan's floor.

"Pym, why did you and Jan settle on an apartment?" asked Bobby.

"She insisted on it," Pym groaned. "I wanted a house; she wanted this. It comes to show how we are polar opposite of each other. In some ways it's good; it a lot of ways it's bad. It leads into . . . well; it's destructive between us. But that does not mean that I love her any less."

"You can have all zhe love in zhe vorld for somebody; it's not going to stop it from not vorking zhe vay you consider ideal," Kurt said.

Wanda's eyes flashed towards Kurt; the fact that he seemed to have so much wisdom beyond his years intrigued her.

'How does he seem to know the right thing to say?' Wanda wondered to herself as they approached Jan and Pym's apartment.

"Well, Pym, whatever happened to get you guys to this point, accept it and let it happen; you cannot force a relationship to work," said Beast.

Before they knew it, they were all at Pym's apartment that he was sharing with Jan – but not for long, because Jan was moving out officially. Pym knocked on the door.

"Jan!" he said, grabbing his key and unlocking the door. "Jan, you here?" The minute they walked in, they could see that the whole apartment was a wreck.

Logan took a moment, sniffing the air. "Someone's been in here," he said.

"Yeah it's pretty obvious who has been here," Pietro said.

"This place is completely trashed," Jean said.

"But best I can tell, Janet put up a fight," Pym said, examining the space. He took stock of the sofas that had been thrown halfway across the apartment, the doors being broken off the hinges; the holes in the walls.

"How do you figure?" asked Rogue.

"Trust me; I know her. She's not one to just take something lying down," Pym insisted. "I've never known her to."

"Well, where do you think Ultron could have possibly taken her, if he did, that is?" asked Kitty from where she stood beside Ororo and Forge.

Pym let out a sigh. "Honestly? Where do you think Ultron would go since he's got the Brotherhood with him at his side?"

"Genosha," said Pietro. "Going back to square one again."

"God, I was looking forward to our time rescuing Risman those months ago to be the last time we set foot on Genoshan soil," said Warren.

"You and meh both, sugah," Rogue said.

* * *

**Magneto's Citadel on Genosha – Main Laboratory**

"Hnnn . . ." Janet Van Dyne groaned out as she came to from the haze that was surrounding her mind. Her brain felt as though it was in some sort of fog, as though she had been sleeping for nearly twenty-four hours. The last thing that she remembered was that she had been in her apartment, packing boxes so that she could move out of there, when a powerful blow knocked her off her feet. She had turned and saw members of the Brotherhood in her apartment. But she was not about to take anything lying down. In fact, she had put up quite the struggle and tried to fight back when a powerful, surging attack had knocked her out. She could only assume that that had been Kid Omega's work.

'Great,' she thought as she noticed her arms were tied down with metal restraints and that she had oxygen tubing up her nose, which was forcing her to breathe in some sort of sedative to weaken her. 'I swear to God, when I get my hands on those Brotherhood punks, they are going to regret screwing with me!'

'I wouldn't think that so soon, Ms. Van Dyne,' said the haunting voice of Kid Omega in her head, causing her to awaken in an instant. She simply glared at the purple-haired mutant.

"You know what I am thinking right now? That you should consider changing your hair color," Janet replied back, feistily as ever.

"_**I see you very well still have a sting to you," **_said an eerie, unsettling voice in the room. That was the moment she noticed a robot coming into the room, made out of what appeared to be full adamantium that had be partially created by Magneto. Instantly, Janet had a feeling that she knew exactly who this was.

"Ultron," she breathed as Kid Omega exited the lab.

"_**In the flesh, Dear Mother. Father created me. Though I have to say, he was either brilliant, or a total idiot," **_Ultron said. _**"Father knows nothing of what it means to achieve world peace. Humanity actually needs to evolve in order for it to be saved. We need to take the next step towards evolution." **_

"Oh, how I am _so _curious to see what your plan entails for that?" spat Janet angrily.

"_**But, in order to achieve my goal, I cannot be all alone in this world. That's why you're here; I need a mate, and since you are so compatible with Father," **_Ultron said.

"Oedipus syndrome," Janet said coolly, knowing full well what this meant.

"_**Indeed, Mother. We shall begin right away, but, first thing's first. We're going to need to do some . . . preparations, if that's what you wish to call them," **_Ultron said softly, reaching a hand over to stroke his "mother's" face as he nodded for Magneto to enter the room. _**"Magneto, we shall begin, my friend."**_

* * *

**Up next: Age of Ultron Part 4**

**Also, please go read my newest project Rewrite the Stars on AOO. Review on it amd leave kudos. It only takes a few minutes. **


	19. Issue 59: Age of Ultron Part 4

_The X-men fight to be a symbol of peace in a world that hates and fears them. Nonetheless, there are those who have fears that the X-men are only a temporary solution for peace, and won't be able to continue on their own. _

_As a result, Hank "Giant Man" Pym decided to try and help the X-men by creating an artificial intelligence named Ultron. Unfortunately, Hank's attempts for peace proved to backfire as Ultron became a symbol for anarchy and war. Ultron has not only stolen adamantium from the Weapon X facility, but he also kidnapped Pym's ex-fiancé, Janet "Wasp" Van Dyne. _

_Ultron's goal with Janet is use her by means to create himself a romantic partner compatible with, much like that of Oedipus. It is the first step towards Ultron creating an idea of "family," since he sees Pym as his "father" and Janet as his "mother."_

* * *

**Issue 59: Age of Ultron Part 4**

**Magneto's Citadel on Genosha – Twenty Minutes Ago**

For the past ten minutes, Janet "Wasp" Van Dyne was lying on a medical table in Magneto's laboratory. Over her, Kid Omega and Magneto were at work with Ultron, Kid Omega picking up on her brain patterns, and Magneto forming a metal shell around her body to form the robot that was going to be based on her.

As she lay there, feeling the cold, organic metal surrounding her whole body, Janet's whole entire body felt tense. Not necessarily from fear, but rather from fury. She could still hardly dare to believe that Hank had gone through with creating Ultron. But she knew Hank. He was never one to fully think anything through; he acted on impulse, and he was equally as stubborn as Jan was.

While Magneto proceeded to use her body to shape the metal into the form that Ultron desired for his "mate," Kid Omega copied her brain patterns by reading her thoughts and feeding them to Ultron, who was sitting beside her. Finally, after an agonizing thirty minutes, the process was over, and Janet was freed from all of the metal surrounding her body. She noticed a robotic form standing near her, its body shape identical to hers, from her hair, to her facial features.

"_**Nice work, Magneto," **_Ultron said in that crackling, unsettling voice.

"Thank you very much, Ultron," Magneto replied back with a smile as he and Kid Omega stepped out of the room to allow Ultron to finish his work.

Now alone with Ultron, Janet knew she could open her mouth and say what was on her mind. "You do know that the Brotherhood is eventually going to find out who created you, right?" she asked in a serious tone.

"_**I am anticipating that, Mother," **_Ultron said softly. _**"But I am not too worried about that right now. They will remain loyal to me as long as we have the same goal."**_

"By destroying humanity? By making human beings fall to you at their knees?" Janet spat in disgust. "You're insane!"

"_**Thank dear old Father for that, Mother," **_Ultron said softly. _**"He was truly the special kind of nonsensical imbecile. He allowed his worst fears to dictate every decision that he made. Though I do have to give you credit. You, on the other hand, were always the more sensible out of the both of you." **_

"That would be _so _flattering if I knew you were not holding me hostage right now to make a female clone of you!" Janet spat out as Ultron began to fill the robot with the artificial intelligence he collected from Janet's brainwaves. Before both Ultron and Janet knew it, the AI created based off Janet's brain patterns awoke, and the more feminine robot's eyes opened to reveal two, glowing red orbs.

"_**Who am I?" **_the AI asked. _**"What is this?" **_

"_**I am Ultron; you are Jocasta. I am your husband; you are an AI created by me, Erik Lehnsherr and Quentin Quire. You are based on the brain patterns and appearance of Janet Van Dyne," **_Ultron said, making the official introduction.

Jocasta went over to a mirror to examine her new, feminine, adamantium body. _**"Why is this weird?" **_

"_**It always feels weird at first, my love," **_Ultron replied back gently. _**"But, it's perfectly fine, darling. However, with our mission to achieve world peace, it cannot just be the two of us and the Brotherhood of Mutants . . . I think that we need to have a full family tree." **_

"_**Full family tree," **_breathed Jocasta. She smiled an eerie smile at her "husband." _**"I agree. I would like that." **_

Janet watched the exchange between the two AIs, disturbed at the sighting of it. Just the idea of an artificial intelligence with her brain patterns walking around was a sight that sent a shiver down her spine. Closing her eyes, Janet breathed a deep sigh. If she ever saw Hank, she would want nothing more than to rip him a new one.

* * *

**Shores of Genosha – Present Time **

"This is insanity," said Scarlet Witch as she, Black Widow, Quicksilver, Giant Man and Bruce Banner exited the Blackbird with the rest of the X-men team.

"Tell me about it," said Cyclops in agreement. "Alright, we best better get to the citadel, immediately. Whatever Ultron is planning on doing, we need to put an end to it."

"Ya don't need to worry about that, Cyke. I'm the best at what I do," Wolverine growled from where he stood in between Rogue and Shadowcat.

"Believe me, we know, Wolverine," Beast said. "Carly, stay on the jet and on comms," he added.

"_Roger that," _Carly said.

"But, I have to say this. Why is Banner with us? I mean, the chances of him turning into the other guy would be very high in this environment," Angel said as he took the skies.

"Trust me, Angel; we're well aware of the risks . . . that's the general idea," said Hawkeye.

"What?" asked Rogue in shock.

"He's the distraction so that we can get in there," said Marvel Girl in explanation. "Dr. Banner, now would be a pretty good time to get angry."

"That's my secret, Jean; I'm always angry," Banner said to her, before the veins on his neck proceeded to pop out and his skin began to mutate into a bright color of green. His shirt began to tear into shreds as he let out an enraged growl. Before they knew it, the Incredible Hulk was towering over all of them, pissed off and ready for a fight.

"Hulk, smash," Cyclops said with a nod of his head towards the citadel.

The Incredible Hulk nodded and proceeded to run into the direction of the citadel with an angry snarl, alerting all members of the Brotherhood to go into defensive mode. Blink proceeded to open several portals to reveal Blob, Kid Omega, Beautiful Dreamer, Callisto, Caliban, Sabretooth, Mystique, Avalanche and Toad.

"You X-men have got some serious balls to be walking on our soil," spat Blink in anger.

"And Wanda, Pietro, you two are on their side?" asked Mystique.

"You could say that," Scarlet Witch said. "You all took this too far! The deal was we stay neutral!"

"We're not Switzerland. You're either with the mutants, or you are not," Avalanche said.

"You do realize Ultron has you fooled. He's using you," spat Quicksilver.

"As long as we have the same goal, that is all that matters," Blink said in a cool tone. She turned her head towards the rest of the Brotherhood, signaling them to attack.

Marvel Girl proceeded to face off against Toad, Cyclops against Avalanche, Iceman against Pyro, Wolverine and Shadowcat against Sabretooth, and Rogue and Nightcrawler against Mystique. Giant Man proceeded to make himself giant in size, towering over as he and the Hulk proceeded to charge forward.

Marvel Girl took on Toad, who was hopping forward towards her. Once he took a leap into the air, Marvel Girl held him in place. But, despite having her hold on him, Toad spat his greenish slime right into her face, which covered her mouth and nose, causing her to release her grip on him. Marvel Girl desperately tried to pull the slime off of her face, which was starting to crust in the form of a hard shell. She could barely breathe.

'Scott!' she cried out.

Cyclops, who has just taken out Avalanche with the help of Angel, turned his attention to his girlfriend, who was desperately trying to get the disgusting, encrusted goo off of her face.

"Jean!" he yelled out, running to her from where she fell against a boulder. He reached over and tried to peel the slime off of her. "Oh God," he whispered, trying to peel off the disgusting, green glop off her mouth and nose. After about two minutes, he knew that it was no use. "Hold on; don't move!" he warned her.

He got up and set his visor on the lowest setting, aiming a perfect shot at the slime and blasting it away. Marvel Girl proceeded to convulse and choke where she lay on the ground, Cyclops rushing back to her side to hold her face in both his hands, running his fingers through her hair comfortingly. "Easy," he said once his girlfriend caught her breath. "You alright?"

"I'm pissed!" Marvel Girl wheezed out as Cyclops pulled her up to her feet as they rushed over to Giant Man, who was planning to make his way into the citadel. "Pym!" she yelled out.

"The both of you, come with me!" he called out, and they entered the citadel immediately. "Okay, we should split up."

"No, we shouldn't! That's what Magneto would be expecting," Cyclops said. "I can only assume that Ultron is in the main lab of this place. Whatever he's doing, it's there."

"Good point," Marvel Girl said, and all three proceeded to climb up the stairs in a race to get to the laboratory which was on the third floor of the building. Once they got there, however, they found that they were interrupted by a pulse of electro-magnetic energy sent by Magneto, who sent them crashing into the wall.

"Magneto!" shouted Giant Man in anger as he glared at the master of magnetism.

"You three really did not honestly think that you could intrude on my homeland and get away with it, did you?" Magneto asked coldly as Ultron and Jocasta worked vigorously at something. As soon as Giant Man saw Jocasta, his eyes widened in shock.

'Ultron actually . . . he _cloned _Jan?' he thought in anger as he noticed Janet still strapped to the medical table breathing in a sedative that was preventing her from using her powers. "FUCK ULTRON!" he shouted.

"_**Oh, hello, Father. Glad to see that you are here to witness an actual evolution happen before your eyes," **_Ultron said softly.

"Oh, Father?" Magneto asked softly. "I should have guessed. Only you would be impulsive enough to create something like Ultron."

"And now I am paying for it!" spat Giant Man. "But Jan's got nothing to do with this! Ultron, let her go!"

"_**Sorry, cannot do that, Father," **_Ultron said quietly. _**"She's partially the key to my mission of ending you, and the X-men. Now, we must not waste another moment in time. Jocasta, my love, is our son almost completed?"**_

"Son?" asked Giant Man. "I always imagined being a grandpa, but, with Jan and I's biological children, not with crazy robots!"

"Well, _honey, _you wanted to build artificial intelligence? This is what you get!" Janet said, glaring at her ex-fiancé as Ultron and Jocasta proceeded to work together at building yet another droid, this one appearing to be bright red in color with some sort of yellow jewel on his forehead.

"_**We shall call him . . .Vision," **_Jocasta said.

"_**Ahh, after Aaarkus," **_Ultron said. _**"Perfect, dear. Now, we shall begin by fusing our brain patterns together into one, to make the perfect child to help us complete our goal."**_

Janet, Giant Man, Magneto, Marvel Girl and Cyclops watched as Jocasta and Ultron proceeded to combine both their brainwaves together to put into the AI known as Vision. Before they knew it, the Vision was awake, examining was his new body looked like. His eyes were pale, and he wore a cape and armor around his already-metal body. Giant Man could only assume that Vision was made out of adamantium. It was the only thing that made sense.

"_**Vision, my son," **_Ultron said. _**"Hello; you are part of our mission." **_

As Giant Man, Janet, Marvel Girl and Cyclops watched this exchange, Marvel Girl felt a sickness forming in the pit of her stomach as Vision, Jocasta and Ultron all surrounded a computer in the room, collecting data that was there. From what Marvel Girl could see, they were gathering intel on the Sentinels.

'Shit!' she thought, struggling against the metal restraining her. Desperately, she tried releasing her body from the metal around her chest and wrists with telekinesis. Suddenly, that was the moment something odd happened. Her eyes flashed a warm, orange glow, and before they all knew it, the metal restraining them was released from them.

"Jean, how did you do that?" asked Cyclops as his girlfriend shoved Magneto aside with telekinesis, her eyes still glowing with an orange heugh as she somehow managed to break through Magneto's helmet to perform a psychic attack on him.

"I-I honestly don't know," she said as she released Janet from the medical table. Suddenly, that was when Vision, Jocasta and Ultron seemed to freeze up in shock. Whatever they had seen on the computers had clearly left them in surprise, Ultron in particular.

"_**I can't believe this. No . . . I-I was wrong. Mutants, while they are gifted, they really are no different than humans," **_Ultron said.

"How so?" asked Janet, who was leaning on Giant Man for support.

"_**They might be enhanced individuals, but, they truly are no different than humans. They really are not the key towards evolution and saving mankind. They're slovenly. From what I just saw, mutants – when they act on impulse, they act on **_**human **_**emotions, even if they try to repudiate it. We really aren't the same," **_Ultron said. _**"Which means . . . in order to save the world from chaos, the mutants have to go, too. I'm sorry, Jean Grey. You seem like a really nice person. But –"**_

That was when Ultron nodded for Vision to blast a ray of energy at Marvel Girl, Cyclops, Giant Man and Janet; luckily, Marvel Girl put a psychic shield up around them just in time.

"_**Come on, my wife and child. We have something rather important that we must do," **_Ultron said, and Jocasta and Vision flew away with him out of Magneto's citadel.

Marvel Girl, Cyclops, Janet and Giant Man stood there in shock.

"What was he talking about?" asked Giant Man.

"He's-He's planning to intrude into the Sentinels. He's going to use them to take down every mutant and human in the world, starting with Senator Kelly," Marvel Girl said with a shake of her head. "We've got to get back to X-Corporation and think of a plan."

"Agreed, Jean," Cyclops said.

* * *

**The MRD Headquarters in Washington, D.C **

"How many more mutant prisoners do we have here, Stryker?" asked Bolivar Trask.

"A couple hundred more," said William Stryker from where he stood overlooking the MRD and the Sentinels forcing more mutant prisoners into cells.

"At least the mutie freaks know their place in the world, which is here," Trask said in a soft voice as they continued to observe the whole operation with Senator Kelly, who continued to stand there looking rather discomforted. "Senator, you don't seem to be holding the same amount of enthusiasm we have."

Senator Kelly shook his head. "No, no, no Trask; it's fine. It's just – I am still wondering if this is truly the right thing to do."

"It is the right thing, as far as I am concerned," Stryker said. "As long as these muties are contaminating our gene pool, we need to hold them in line."

Senator Kelly breathed out a sigh as he thought to himself, 'I cannot believe what I got myself into. Is this truly the right thing?'

Suddenly, that was when lights began flickering all around them.

'I swear, if this is Magneto doing this,' thought Stryker bitterly as he shook his head. However, that was when all three men could see three androids entering the room by crashing through the skyline window above.

"_**Hello, Senator Kelly, Bolivar Trask; William Stryker. I am here – well **_**we **_**are here to send you a message," **_Ultron said.

"Who are you?" asked Senator Kelly in surprise.

"_**Call me Ultron. My wife and son here, we're all on a mission," **_Ultron said.

"What mission?" asked Trask.

"_**The extinction of humanity and mutants alike," **_Jocasta said darkly. She let a blast of red energy come out of her eyes, firing at all three men and backing them up against the wall. _**"Now, in war, there has got to be a few casualties. We all create what we dread the most. In this case, you all allow your fears to control you. Now, I believe that it is time that we have our own Wide Awake Project, to awaken humanity. Because like the old man says. What doesn't kill us, just makes us stronger." **_

Jocasta and Vision proceeded to manipulate the computers in the room to malfunction and the wires to attack Senator Kelly, Bolivar Trask and William Stryker, tying them up against the wall.

"What the hell is this?" bellowed Stryker.

"_**A message to the world," **_Vision said darkly as he, Ultron and Jocasta began to spread their consciousness throughout the Sentinels, awakening them all.

"_**Today, we awaken humanity in our own right. We will make sure that humanity gets what it deserves. Yes, that includes the mutants, too. Mutants – who think that they are more superior than humans because they have powers. Well, let me tell you a little something, Senator Kelly. Mutants and humans alike are no different. Mutants are just humans with powers and an extra piece of DNA. And they somehow think that they are the key towards evolution; how pathetic?" **_Ultron asked softly. _**"Come, my wife and son. Let's spread our message, starting here in Washington, D.C."**_

* * *

**X-Corporation Tower – War Room **

In the planning room, the X-men, Janet, Hank Pym, Bruce, Natasha, Clint, Professor Xavier, Tony, Rhodey, Pietro and Wanda were watching the news coverage of what was going on in Washington. From what they could see, Ultron was making it clear on his promise to end humanity by using the Sentinels. But, from what they were hearing, Ultron, Vision and Jocasta had taken Senator Kelly, Bolivar Trask and William Stryker as hostages in the MRD HQ.

"This is so wrong," said Tony with a shake of his head from where he stood beside Pepper. "We need to stop this."

"Agreed, Tony; mutants and humans alike didn't sign up for this," said Natasha, running her fingers through her red hair. "This is so fucked up."

"Alright, we should get moving. But, we need an idea of how to put an end to Ultron once and for all," Warren said.

"I think I came up with something," Carly said. "On the way here, Beast and I managed to design a computer virus that should be able to shut Ultron down. All you have to do is tear apart his body, and we should be able to defeat him."

"His body is made out of pure adamantium, and he's got control over the Sentinels. How will we manage to do that?" asked Wanda.

"We improvise," Rogue said from where she sat beside her brother.

"Agreed," Kurt said.

"Alright, X-men, let's get ready," Logan said.

"Here we go again," quipped Bobby as they prepared to take the jet again.

"Rhodey and I are coming with you," Tony said.

"How?" asked Jean.

"I've been working on something for Rhodey and I – suits. And not the kinds of suits you are thinking of. Let's just say, I made these special," Tony said.

"Alright, we'll meet you there," Scott said as he, the X-men and the others exited the War Room. But, Tony did not make it far out of the room.

"Tony, are you certain about this?" Pepper asked him in a serious voice.

"Yes, Pepper," Tony said. "I am certain one hundred percent."

"No, Tony, I cannot let you go out there and get yourself killed!" Pepper said. "You're doing this on impulse!"

"Maybe you're right, but, if I do not aid my employees and these guys in this fight, then I won't feel as though I am making up for my part in this whole mess. It's partially my doing," Tony said.

"Tony, you're – you're the only family that I have," Pepper said, reaching over to caress his face gently.

"I know, but, this is a risk I've got to take Pepper. But, before I do." Tony leaned down and kissed Pepper on the lips gently, and shockingly enough, she reciprocated back with the kiss, going in harder. About two minutes later, they broke apart.

"Okay, now, go be a hero," Pepper whispered, kissing him again one more time before pushing Tony out of the room. Tony ran up to his workshop to put on the Iron Man suit, Rhodey following suit by putting on the War Machine suit.

"Let's go, Rhodes," Tony said.

Rhodey nodded and followed Tony out of the room towards the hanger.

* * *

**Skies above Washington, D.C – The Blackbird **

"Alright X-men, you have your objective," Cyclops said as he piloted the plane towards their destination.

"I can't believe we're doing this right now," said Scarlet Witch.

"Fighting an out of control AI, or working with the X-men?" quipped Quicksilver.

"Both," Scarlet Witch replied from where sat beside her brother and Nightcrawler.

Over by Carly and Beast, the two were holding hands tightly.

"Carly, are you sure that this will work? Do you think my math is correct?" Beast asked.

"If you're still Hank McCoy, then your math is always correct." Carly pressed a gentle kiss against Hank's cheek.

For Black Widow and Hawkeye, the two could hardly even dare to believe that they were in a fight on the same side as the X-men.

"I am still trying to get over the fact that we are going to be fighting killer robots in Washington, D.C," Hawkeye said.

"Keep saying it; maybe that'll make it less true," quipped Black Widow with a smile towards her best friend.

Meanwhile, Giant Man and Wasp were sitting beside one another, silent, but, Giant Man ultimately decided to break the tense silence between them.

"Jan . . . look, I-I am so sorry that I did not listen to you," Giant Man told her.

"That's a first," Wasp quipped. After having agreed to go on the mission, Janet found that she was back in her old Wasp uniform. "But, it does not change what you did. Because I loved you, and I still love you, Hank, but, I cannot marry you."

Giant Man let out a sigh. "While I would love to reconcile my relationship with you, I do know after what it was that I had done that that would be nearly impossible to do."

"Well, your apology was a first step," said Wasp softly. "I've never known you to say sorry, Hank. That was a rather giant step for you to take. And I appreciate that."

Giant Man nodded, breathing out a sigh as they came over the MRD HQ, only to see that half a hundred Sentinels were already in attack mode, beginning to fire at the jet.

"Shit!" yelled Cyclops. "Wolverine, take the controls! Lower the ramp, now!"

"On it, Cyke!" Wolverine said, taking the controls from Cyclops as he, Marvel Girl, Scarlet Witch and Iceman ran to the ramp which was lowered down. One by one, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Scarlet Witch and Iceman proceeded to attack the Sentinels with Black Widow and Hawkeye joining in.

"Alright, we're looking at about fifty Sentinels or so right now," Cyclops announced as he watched his girlfriend telekinetically tear apart several.

"Piece of cake," Iceman said. "This is a Danger Room session on easy."

"Good thing Logan and Carol's ass kicking paid off," Marvel Girl quipped.

"Wait, did I hear a thank you back there?" asked Wolverine.

"You sure did," Cyclops said as he blasted at another Sentinel.

Scarlet Witch's eyes glowed crimson as she used her powers to shove away several Sentinels.

"Alright, Cyke, I'm takin' 'er down! There's gonna be more!" Wolverine yelled.

"Bring it," Iceman said, managing to freeze another robot as the jet landed down on the ground.

"We have to get in there and we have to shut Ultron down. But first we must take apart his robotic form before we do anything," Beast said.

"What about Vision and Jocasta?" asked Shadowcat.

"_Let's worry about Ultron first,"_ suggested Forge from where he sat on the jet. _"Carly, Bruce and I will be taking care of the computer virus that we will use to ultimately shut Ultron down. Three minds are better than one." _

"_In this case, absolutely," _Carly said.

"Alright, X-men, let's get to work," said Cecilia from where she stood beside Marvel Girl. All of the X-men, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver proceeded to rush into the MRD HQ, where they could see even more Sentinels powering up all around them while Ultron, Jocasta and Vision in the middle of the room, and Senator Kelly, Bolivar Trask and William Stryker tied up with electrical wires on a platform above.

"Shit!" whispered Shadowcat.

"Took the word right outta my mouth, darlin'," Logan said.

"_**Hello, X-men, what you all are witnessing here today is my next step towards evolution. Today, we will bring humanity and mutants to their knees," **_said Ultron.

"I've heard enough. Storm, fry him!" shouted Cyclops.

"_**Electricity hitting pure adamantium . . . not a very smart idea there, Cyclops," **_said Jocasta. _**"Besides, before you deal with us, you must deal with the rest of our army of Sentinels." **_

That was when the rest of the Sentinels were awakened, and proceeded to attack.

"Okay, time to improvise!" Storm yelled, proceeding to use her powers to make the winds pick up around her.

"Alright, Jean, Kitty, Kurt; go free the senator, Trask and Stryker," Cyclops ordered.

"Alright, we're on it," Shadowcat said. She and Marvel Girl grabbed onto Nightcrawler, who proceeded to teleport them up where the three men were tied with the wiring from the computers. Before Shadowcat could even begin to phase Senator Kelly from the restraints, she felt a blast of energy hit her in the back. "Gahh!" she yelled out painfully, rubbing her back. "That's it! I am _totally _done playing nice!" She proceeded to run and she phased into the Sentinel that had fired at her, tearing it apart within an instant. Marvel Girl ran over and began untying Senator Kelly, while also deflecting several beams of energy being shot at her.

Meanwhile, down on the ground, Wasp, Giant Man, Black Widow and Hawkeye were in the progress of attacking several more Sentinel robots, giving the fight all that they had within them.

"After this, I need a vacation!" quipped Hawkeye.

"You and me both, Clint," said Black Widow, firing several bullets at the robots.

Marvel Girl managed to get the Senator untied, but she still had Trask and Stryker to worry about. Keeping the shielding up around her body, she called out, "Dr. Reyes I could use some backup here!"

"I've got you, Jean!" Cecilia yelled out, running up the stairs and projecting a forcefield around Marvel Girl to protect her.

Over by Beast, Wolverine, Iceman and Storm, the four of them were doing the best that they could as well, managing to tear into several Sentinels themselves. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were proving to hold their own as well. Suddenly, that was when a beam of energy shot at a Sentinel, and they could see Tony and Rhodey in their Iron Man and War Machine suits.

"Yeah, now _this _is what I call a War Machine story!" Rhodey said.

"Tony Stark, you son of a bitch," Angel said with a smile as he flew overhead.

"Ooh, Warren, you kiss your mother with that mouth?" quipped Iron Man jokingly. "Alright, kids, how many are left?"

"Ah'd say about maybe forty-five, sugah!" Rogue called out.

"Okay, X-men, last I checked, you all are still on my payroll. It's time to work for a living!" Iron Man yelled, blasting away at another Sentinel.

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Mr. Stark," Beast said with a grin.

"_Alright, guys, you still with us?" _asked Forge.

"Yeah, Forge?" asked Marvel Girl, who was leading Trask, Stryker and Senator Kelly to safety.

"_We think we found a way to use Jocasta and Vision against Ultron. Be prepared," _Bruce said.

"Anything that works, Dr. Banner," Wolverine said, tearing into a Sentinel using his claws.

Before they all knew it, the eyes of Vision and Jocasta flashed several times as Forge and Carly hacked into their systems. After about five minutes, Vision and Jocasta were attacking Ultron, side by side the X-men.

"Carly, Forge it worked!" yelled Wasp.

"_Alright, that's good!" _Carly said in the comms system. _"But we've still got Ultron himself to deal with! Jean do you think you can handle it?" _

"I think so!" Marvel Girl yelled.

"_Okay, do it on my signal!" _Forge said.

'You can do this, Jean,' Professor Xavier said to her telepathically. 'I am monitoring you all from Cerebro. I have got every inch of confidence in you, Jean.'

'Thanks, Professor,' Marvel Girl said after getting Senator Kelly, Trask and Stryker to safety near the exit of the building.

"_Alright, Jean, now's the time! Do it!" _Carly shouted.

'Unleash your power, Jean,' Professor Xavier said to her telepathically as Marvel Girl levitated her body towards Ultron, her eyes seemingly glowing again in that strange orange color that they had been on Genosha.

'You've got this, sweetheart!' Logan projected to her.

'You can do this, kid,' Cecilia added.

'Unleash your power. Let go, Jean! Jean let you!' Cyclops projected to her loudly.

That was the moment Jean concentrated her telekinesis, and she let out a loud scream as a fiery aura seemed to glow all around her. Her fiery red hair whipped around her face as her arms stretched out, and she began tearing Ultron's body apart piece by piece.

All of the X-men watched in amazement. They had no clue that Marvel Girl had been capable of that much power before. This was their first time seeing her do anything like this before. For Cyclops, Wolverine, Iceman, Beast and Angel, it was a sight that made their jaws drop in shock. As Ultron's body finally was torn to shreds, Marvel Girl's powers calmed down, and the bright, orange aura around her seemed to calm as well.

"Alright, it's time! FORGE CARLY, DO IT NOW!" yelled Shadowcat. That was the moment all of the Sentinels stopped attacking at random, and they all collapsed down, yet Jocasta and Vision were remaining peaceful and calm.

Ultron was finished for good.

Cyclops ran over to his girlfriend, whose eyes were still glowing a shade of orange.

"Jean?" he asked her.

"Scott," she breathed. The two brushed their lips against each other in a gentle kiss, wrapping their arms around each other tightly.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Ultron was gone forever. Jocasta and Vision were officially on their side. They had saved the Senator. It was all adding up to one hell of a victory after such an insane couple of days.

For Senator Kelly, as he looked on, he could not help but reflect on everything that had just happened. The X-men had gone out of their way to work with SHIELD to save his life. It truly made him want to have a change of heart about the mutant problem.

'Maybe, perhaps, not all mutants are as dangerous as they seem after all,' he thought as he watched the X-men celebrate their triumph.

* * *

**Up next: Election Day **


	20. Issue 60: Election Day

_In a world that hates and fears them, the X-men are faced with the challenge of needing to use their powers to protect a world that doesn't want them to be part of it. They are determined to be agents for peace, and a counter to intolerance and extremism. _

_Nonetheless, their latest mission proved to be one that could make or break it for them. It started with an artificial intelligence designed by Hank Pym named Ultron, who went corrupt. Upon designing a "family" of his own, Ultron came to the realization that mutants and humans are truly no different from one another. After turning his back on the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Ultron took his hatred of humanity and mutants to Washington DC, where he infiltrated the MRD headquarters to take control over the Sentinels. He and his "family" kidnapped presidential nominee Senator Edward Kelly, as well as his advisor William Stryker and his other accomplices. _

_As a result, the X-men and agents of SHIELD came together in order to put a stop to Ultron's reign of terror, but it was Jean Grey who successfully stopped him with help of a mysterious force, as well as assistance of Carly Anne Crocker, Beast's girlfriend who is an expert in computer sciences._

_Now, with election day upon them, the X-men await the results and see who becomes their United States president. With the frontrunners being Lilandra Neramani and Edward Kelly, it's a matter of time before mutants' fate becomes in the hands of the government._

* * *

**Issue 60: Election Day**

**The New York Plaza Hotel **

In the United States Constitution, particularly article two, section one, clause four, it is decreed that every four years, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, a presidential election is held. While most election days have been historic, some changing the course of history, there was not one that had this high of stakes as this one.

In the New York Plaza Hotel resided the presidential candidates, who were awaiting on the results to come. So far, the highest in the poles were Lilandra Neramani and Senator Edward Kelly. However, just judging from the pole results, Senator Kelly was the front runner.

Ever since being rescued by the X-men, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, and the agents of SHIELD, the senator found that he was having a change of heart about mutants. The X-men, Wanda and Pietro had gone out of their way to save his life against the corrupted AI, Ultron. They had braved their way into an army of Sentinel robots to rescue the prejudice senator and his choice advisor, William Stryker. This action committed by the X-men led into Senator Kelly feeling as though he needed to reevaluate his course of action when dealing with the mutant problem. He'd had the whole month of October to think it over. And he ultimately concluded that while there were some mutants out there who were dangerous, there were many out there – such as the X-men – who were looking to fight for peace. The X-men were the mutants who were hoping to not start a war. In fact, they were hoping to end it so that all Americans – mutant and human alike – could be free.

Watching the pole results, Senator Kelly remained the front runner, with Lilandra close behind him. As Lilandra observed the results, she knew what this meant. It meant that the citizens of the United States were going to elect Kelly.

"Charles, you do realize what this means, right?" she asked Charles Xavier, who sat beside her.

"Indeed, Lilandra, but I am led to believe that Senator Kelly has got quite the different outlook on mutants. The X-men have saved his life against Ultron and the Sentinels, proving that not all mutants are dangerous. Ultimately, if he wins, it is in his hands, and he will ultimately have to make the decision as far as what his stance is," Professor Xavier said to her. "But we cannot allow that to halt our efforts to fight for peace amongst humans and mutants. If we do that, then we might as well allow Magneto to win and continue with wanting a war."

"If that's what the American people have ultimately decided on, then that's how it is going to be. But that does not mean that I will stop. Evangeline and I will continue to fight for equal rights for mutants across the globe. You going into business with me would only help that further," Lilandra said softly. "However, I do have to say this. What would Mr. Stark's plans be entailing? Ever since he created the Iron Man suit, he's been getting quite the attention."

"I believe that Tony knows exactly what it is that he is wanting to do. And I trust that he will ultimately make the right decision," Charles said.

Lilandra nodded.

* * *

**Washington, D.C SHIELD HQ **

'I wonder what is that Fury needs me, the Maximoffs, Pym, Rhodey and Jan for,' Tony thought to himself as he walked down the halls of the SHIELD HQ to meet with Nick Fury.

Tony thought that that day, he would be home watching the results of the presidential election. But, that morning, he had gotten a call from Nick Fury asking to meet with him, stating that it was serious.

At his side were Wanda and Pietro Maximoff – the two former Brotherhood members who had aided the X-men and SHEILD in taking down Ultron – Hank Pym, Janet van Dyne, and Rhodey. Why Fury wanted to see the rest of them, Tony did not have the faintest notion. But, he did know that he wanted to get back to X-Corporation Tower so that he could watch the election results with his X-Corp employees. He was anxious to see if Lilandra was the winner, since if Lilandra won, Charles Xavier would officially be her presidential advisor.

When they got to the main conference of the SHIELD base, they could see Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff and Bruce Banner there as well, sitting around the large round table with Nick Fury standing there.

"Mr. Stark," Fury said with a curt nod.

"Fury," Tony replied back in return. "I am still wondering why you called all of us here."

"I called you all here tonight to discuss something of importance. Your actions against Ultron this past month have put all you kids in quite the spotlight," Fury said. "This is why I am requesting you all of this. When Howard Stark first founded SHEILD, he put together something called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to put together the world's greatest men and women, to see if they could become something greater."

"You're asking of us to be part of the Initiative?" asked Wanda as she took a seat beside Jan.

"Yes, Miss Maximoff. All of you proved this past month that you were willing to go out of your way to avenge the wrongdoings committed by something impossible. I think that all of you are more than capable of working under SHIELD's Avengers Initiative," Fury said.

"Fury, are you sure that I am worthy to be part of something like this?" asked Hank. "Because I was the idiot who created Ultron. I created that monster; I paid the price for it."

"And you cleaned the mess up rather well, Dr. Pym," Fury said, crossing his arms as he shared a pointed look with his agents Danielle Moonstar and Daisy Johnson, who nodded in agreement.

"So, you are willing to put your trust in us?" asked Pietro in a serious voice.

"I trust that all of you are the ones who can ultimately make a difference in the world," Fury said. "You especially Mr. Stark. Your old man would have been proud of how you took a stand against Ultron, and that you managed to end a war before it came to be something even more catastrophic. Professor Xavier would tell you the same. So, are you all on board?"

"Agreed," Clint said.

"Yes," said Natasha with a nod.

Everyone else nodded in agreement. From that day on, they were not just agents of SHIELD or former members of the Brotherhood, or even a billionaire philanthropist. They were Avengers.

* * *

**Magneto's Citadel on Genosha – Throne Room **

'I cannot believe this . . . the United States of America might actually elect Kelly,' thought Magneto as he sat there on his metal throne, watching the news coverage.

Ever since the X-men had rescued Senator Kelly from Ultron, things had changed drastically. The presidential-hopeful Senator Edward Kelly seemed to not be on a campaign against mutants. In fact, he seemed to have a change of heart. But that did not mean that Erik Lehnsherr did not have his concerns.

The fact that Ultron had so easily turned against him and went on to try and kill not just humans, but, everyone in the entire world, was something that the master of magnetism found hard to swallow. In fact, hearing that Ultron had planned to use the Sentinel robots for the attacks still sent a shiver down his spine. Magneto did not fear many things in life, but the idea of an AI turning against him was downright disturbing, possibly just as disturbing as the pole numbers on Election Day.

Seeing the pole numbers for Senator Kelly rise as Lilandra Neramani's fell shortly behind was something that made the master of magnetism feel a twinge of anger. The fact that the American people were willing to trust Kelly to protect everyone in the United States boggled his mind. What drove him even crazier was the fact that both his children, Wanda and Pietro, had taken the X-men's side attempting at stopping Magneto from helping the world evolve.

The master of magnetism's gaze hardened as he continued watching the news, noticing Charles Xavier and Lilandra Neramani on the TV. Both were dreamers who wanted nothing more than to see humans and mutants live together peacefully. Magneto had given up on Xavier's dream years ago when he witnessed the heartless killing of his wife Magda. Ever since witnessing his wife being murdered in Sakovia, Magneto's faith in humanity had quickly faded. So, his faith in whoever was selected for the presidency was going to be rather low as well. Even though he had his own country to operate and rule over, Erik still felt that mutants having their own country was not nearly enough.

'It looks as though the American people have made their decision,' pondered Magneto as he continued to watch the news. He knew what this meant. Everyone in America was under the leadership of a man who was known in the past to have prejudice, anti-mutant views. He could hear the commotion outside from several mutants who were especially angered about it.

"THEY'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO ELECT THAT TYRANT KELLY!"

Magneto closed his eyes as he heard the growing yells of anger on the island. Many of the mutant residents of Genosha – particularly those who had been part of the Morlocks – were angered, and rightfully so. For Magneto, knowing that Kelly had William Stryker as his main choosing for advisor. Walking down the halls to the main computer core of Genosha, Erik proceeded to pull up the files on William Stryker that had not been wiped out by Ultron when the corrupted AI came to the island. Observing the files on William Stryker, Magneto stared at them bitterly.

'Stryker . . . knowing him, even if Kelly has got a change of heart about mutants, Stryker is not going to be one to stand behind a president that supports mutants. He is going to do whatever it takes to make sure that mutantkind falls to his mercy,' Magneto thought as he heard several members of the Brotherhood coming into the room.

"Magneto," said Callisto as she came into the room with Calliban and Blink at her side. "It looks as though Edward Kelly is going to be the one elected for the presidency."

"Indeed, Callisto . . . I'm actually anticipating that. But, fact is, he still has William Stryker as his advisor. And Stryker is almost as colorful as his past is," Magneto said.

"What do you mean?" asked Blink.

"Believe me when I say, Blink, that I know more of this man's history than you probably could realize," Magneto said, a bitter smile appearing on his features as he continued to stare at Stryker's files.

* * *

**X-Corporation Tower – Rec Room **

"It looks pretty close," said Jean as she sat on the couch with Scott's arm wrapped around her shoulders firmly. "I actually think Senator Kelly is going to be elected."

"Well, let's hope and pray to God that he has got a change of heart," said Anna-Marie from where she sat in between Kurt and Logan.

"I still don't trust 'im," Logan said softly. "Scum like that will continue to stink. A leopard don't change it's spots."

"Oh really, sugah? Ya said the same about meh, and Ah I think Ah turned out alright," Rogue said with a smile.

"Yer different, kiddo; yer judgement was clouded because ya were used," Logan said firmly. "This asshole made it clear that he wanted to form up a mutant registration. The day I work under his terms is the day I die."

"Well, I can actually somewhat agree with you, Logan, but from my experience of dealing with my father, people do change," Warren said in an assuring tone.

"Look, guys, the results are coming on soon. I would like to hear this," said Scott.

Everyone fell silent at that. They were all anxious to hear the results of who was going to become president of the United States of America. The fate of mutantkind was resting in the hands of whoever was going to become the president. Although the X-men eligible to vote had placed their vote with Lilandra Neramani – given she was a mutant who was willing to fight for their freedom, and she had the professor as her advisor, they were hoping it was going to be her. That was when Tony and Rhodey entered the room with Wanda and Pietro. They were all anxious to see the final results.

For Kitty Pryde, she was particularly anxious. She had been exposed to just how hateful the world could be at just the young age of thirteen years old. It forced her to grow up in ways she never thought that she had to. Seeing how she was treated by Graydon Creed and Alyssa Risman those months back when they had told her they hated her for being born, Kitty found that a heavy weight had been placed on her shoulders. Typically, a regular eighth grader wouldn't have to go through something like that. But Kitty was no ordinary eighth grader; she was the youngest member of the X-men. That meant needing to save a world that hated her and feared her. This was the reason why she was watching the election results. It was not because she wanted to be part of it. She had a responsibility to be part of it. She could feel Ororo pulling her tightly against her side to reassure her.

Finally, the time came. The numbers all added up. Senator Edward Kelly was officially the United States president.

"Mein gott," Kurt whispered.

"Don't think you did not see this one coming, Kurt," said Ororo. "I think that we all did."

"It was the most obvious choice. Almost everyone wanted Kelly," Bobby said as he shook his head.

"Let's just hope that what we did for him last month was enough," Beast said quietly as President Edward Kelly took the stage to make his acceptance speech.

"_Thank you, thank you all," _President Kelly was saying. _"Now, I know that you all are asking yourselves the same question. What is my stance on the mutant issue? I know that I have talked about solving this issue by using the Sentinel robots as well as a mutant registration and the MRD. But, over the course of this past year, and the past months, I have borne witness to several incidents that have taken place. We watched as Cameron Hodge and Obadiah Stane went behind my back to found the now-mutant-friendly island of Genosha to illegally experiment Worthington Industries' now-terminated mutant cure. In the process, Hodge kidnapped and murdered an innocent young woman." _

Warren felt himself getting choked up at the mentioning of Candy. He still missed her more than words could ever describe. The fact that President Kelly was acknowledging that that was wrong; it was a big deal to him that someone was taking responsibility for it. Someone was acknowledging that Candy's murdering had caused him such great pain.

"_Additionally, we witnessed the MRD taking advantage of their position. We witnessed as they arrested mutants who were – from what I could see – simply defending themselves against violent acts from the Friends of Humanity. It was all pre-calculated, and I can see that now. And just this past month, we watched as the Sentinel program was turned against us by an AI known to the world as Ultron. Ultron attempted to use the Sentinels to kill all humanity as we know it, and that includes mutants. Which is why, my first act as president will be to disband the MRD and issue a full pardon to all the mutants who had been taken prisoner for simply defending themselves against heinous acts of violence. I promise, as president, that I will re-evaluate the mutant issue and take a different approach with it. Of course, there are mutants out there that are dangerous, but we also must bear in mind that while mutants have powers, they are also, in many ways, human too. I promise to make sure that this country is safe for everyone . . . mutant and human alike. Again, thank you. God bless you all, and God bless America." _

The X-men sat there, taking it all in. The fact that President Kelly actually had a change of heart was something that greatly surprised them all. It was not the victory that they had been hoping for, but it was at least a start towards something.

"It's not what we wanted," Jean said from where she sat in Cecilia's embrace as the older woman stroked her hair. She snuggled further into the older woman's arms.

"But it's something," Ororo said. "Let's be grateful that it seems as though President Kelly is changing tactics."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Amen to that," whispered Forge as he shared a look with Tony and Rhodey.

"At least it shows that our efforts were all the more worth it," Tony said. "We did it. We managed to achieve taking one more step towards privatizing peace."

Everyone breathed out a sigh of relief at that. However, Tony had one more thing to say to them all as he shared a look with Wanda and Pietro, the two former Brotherhood members who had redeemed themselves.

"Look, guys, I know that we are facing the dawn of a new beginning, but, Rhodey, Wanda, Pietro and I have got some news to share with you guys. You're probably wondering where we were earlier this evening. But I got a call from Nick Fury at SHIELD. He wants us – and by us, I mean Rhodey, Wanda, Pietro and myself – to be part of the SHIELD Avengers Initiative," Tony said.

"Wait, you're retiring from X-Corp and Stark Industries?" asked Bobby in surprise.

"No, not retiring. It's not even a leave of absence. I can operate from here. But I will basically be working with SHIELD, being monitored by them, Fury in particular. Pym and Jan are going to be part of it, too," Tony explained. "It doesn't mean I am leaving. I'm still gonna be here; that's something that is not going to change. This is just a new turn for us, to be able to do good. I'll be able to do more as Iron Man, considering what I had proved I was capable of when I'd helped you all take down Ultron."

The X-men sat there taking it all. It was definitely quite the announcement, considering the fact that Edward Kelly had gotten elected as president. To hear that Tony, Rhodey, Wanda and Pietro had gotten hand-selected by Nick Fury from SHIELD to be part of the Avengers was quite the feet. In many ways, for Jean and Scott, Tony had been not only their employer, but, also their friend. To hear that he was going to be working towards being a hero; it was something that made all of the X-men feel a sense of pride in him. Tony was proving to them just how much he had matured over the past year.

"Well, all I can say is that we wish you the best," Beast said with a smile.

Jean, Scott and Warren couldn't help but grin. Being some of the first few people Tony had given refuge to, they felt as though they had seen their friend and employer change over the course of a year. The fact that they as X-men had made Tony mature and have more compassion made them feel a sense of pride in him. He wasn't just fighting for himself anymore. He was looking to fight for everyone.

* * *

**New York Plaza Hotel **

"So, it looks as though even though I am not elected as president, that the X-men had managed to achieve something," Lilandra said to Charles Xavier from where they were in the main ballroom of the Plaza Hotel.

"Indeed Lilandra. And I'd just gotten a call from Nick Fury of SHIELD that he wants Tony to be part of the Avengers Initiative with Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. At least this way, the Maximoff twins and Tony will be able to do something good in the world," Charles said.

"Either way, I am proud of how much you managed to accomplish in these past couple months, Charles," Lilandra said with a smile.

"Coming from you, Lilandra, that means a lot," Charles told her, returning her smile as President Kelly came over, breaking away from William Stryker, his advisor, and his wife Sharon to speak with them.

"Mr. President," Lilandra said with a smile in his direction, politely.

"Miss Neramani," President Kelly said with a returning nod. "Professor Xavier, I am just coming here to say that I am holding true to my word."

"That's very much appreciated, Mr. President," said Xavier with a smile in return.

"Well, your X-men were the very thing that made me have a change of heart. They went out of their way to save me and protect me against Ultron; to me, that says a lot," President Kelly said.

"And you hold true to your word that the MRD will be disbanded?" asked Lilandra.

"Yes, Miss Neramani," President Kelly said. "That I can promise."

Unbeknownst to the newly named president of the United States, his advisor, William Stryker, was standing there not too far away, watching the exchange between President Kelly and Charles Xavier. Stryker struggled to hold back a glare from appearing onto his face. The fact that President Edward Kelly had decided to disband the MRD and change his tactics was something Stryker did not by nay means agree with. In fact, Stryker had been counting on the MRD staying in tact due to the fact that he wanted to keep mutants in line. No, he did not just want to keep the mutants in line.

'I cannot believe that the president decided to change his strategy like this,' thought Stryker bitterly as he watched the president shake Lilandra's hand in a respectful manner. 'This man . . . as long as he's president, as long as he's taking the side of the muties, we as Americans will be fucked forever.'

Suddenly, that was when his cellphone buzzed with a text message.

**Risman: **_I am here, outside the hotel, sir. _

**Stryker: **_Thanks, Risman _

Stryker made sure that he slipped away stealthily so that nobody would see him making his temporary leave from the celebration of President Kelly being elected. Sneaking away outside to the back of the hotel, he could see Alyssa Risman, leaning against the wall.

"Risman," he said with a curt nod in her direction.

"Stryker," she replied back with a cold look in her eyes. "Thank you for meeting with me here tonight."

"It's no problem, Alyssa. I understand that you feel betrayal from the Friends of Humanity after Creed was exposed as the son of two mutants," Stryker said.

"I don't care if he's human; I don't buy that he did not know he was the son of two muties," spat Risman in disgust. "However, I have to say this: what Creed was doing with FOH, he had the basic idea. That's why I wanted to approach you about my idea."

"I'm listening," Stryker said with a smile.

"I understand that you are deeply religious, sir," Risman said. "Here's my proposition." She handed him a pamphlet that looked to be an advertisement of sorts. It said "Purifiers" on it. "Would you care to start this little club with me?"

Stryker smiled a bitter smile. "Are you reading my mind?"

"No; I'm not a mutie; I am just that intuitive," Risman said, returning his bitter smile with a hand on Stryker's shoulder. "And, I've already got a little help from the inside, as well. I will tell you more when the time comes."

"Thanks, Risman," Stryker said to her with another bitter smile, before he walked away to head back into the hotel to continue with the celebration of the presidency.

* * *

**A/N: **

**And that is a wrap on volume 3! Thank you to the few who left legitimate reviews and not spam. I say this on the behalf of myself and MarvelMaster616, my mentor and editor. It was quite a ride incorporating Ultron, to a point where now, we have the Avengers! **

**Volume 4 will come in a few weeks, after hopefully, the volume 3 reflections are done. **

**But I must say, I am disheartened at the lack of legitimate reviews on this story and the lack of an audience it has. At this point, I'm not just throwing in the towel. I decided, even if I'm not getting reviews that I want, I won't stop posting for this series, because I feel this is a story that deserves to be told. I'll post it not for reviews. I'll post it for myself. And anyone who legitimately cares to read the story and actually take time to write well-crafted reviews on my work and not obnoxious spam, then I applaud them.**

**Also, I encourage all to go to my Archive of Our Own page and check out my newest endeavor, Rewrite the Stars. I would love it if you all checked it out on there and read and review it. With my birthday being Wednesday, please send me some birthday love by leaving comments on Rewrite the Stars.**

**Volume 4 will come in a month or so. It will most likely be the thirteenth of December, just a week before Christmas, as a Christmas gift from me, to you. I had ambitious plans on doing a Christmas special and reflections for this volume, but since no one seems to care, why should I even bother doing so? So I will only do it if I hear someone wants it or has interest in it. Excelsior everyone! **

**DC-MarvelGirl 1997**


	21. AN

**_Volume 3 Reflections are live!_**


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